Ongoing Denial of Family Visits for Death Row Political Prisoner Pakhshan Azizi; Concerns Over Security Interference in Judicial Process
Hengaw, Thursday, December 5, 2024
Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish political prisoner on death row, has been denied in-person visitation rights for the past 150 days. Her lawyers express doubts about the possibility of her acquittal following an appeal due to the involvement of security agencies.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Pakhshan Azizi, a political prisoner from Mahabad, has been deprived of meeting her family and lawyers in Evin Prison for the past 150 days. This basic right was revoked during the second round of Iran’s 14th presidential election.
In addition to the complete ban on in-person visits, Azizi was also denied phone call privileges until late October.
Recently, Amir Raeesian, Azizi’s lawyer, provided an update on her case. He noted that “concrete and verified documents from official sources” confirming Azizi’s humanitarian and social work in refugee camps for those displaced by the ISIS war had been submitted to the Supreme Court. He stated: “Despite the evidence presented to the Supreme Court, preliminary reports are not promising, diminishing hopes of acquittal from the charge of baghi (armed rebellion) and the accompanying death sentence.”
Raeesian has also shared copies of official endorsements from two humanitarian organizations in Syria confirming Azizi’s social work. He wrote, “Even though innocence and acquittal should not require proof, we have submitted credible evidence to the Supreme Court.”
The two organizations, “Shams Rehabilitation and Development Organization” (الشمـس للتـأهيل والتنمیة) in northeast Syria and the Kurdish Red Crescent (الهلال الأحمر الكردي), are both officially registered and licensed in Syria.
Maziar Tataei, another of Azizi’s lawyers, expressed hope that “the Supreme Court’s reviewing branch will avoid hasty judgment and, by carefully considering the submitted evidence, overturn the death sentence.” However, he also raised concerns about the possibility of “a rushed trial without adequate attention to the evidence presented.”
Pakhshan Azizi was sentenced to death on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, on the charge of baghi. She was later accused of “causing unrest in prison” in a separate case opened by Branch 3 of Evin Prosecutor’s Office and sentenced to an additional six months of imprisonment.
It is worth noting that Azizi was arrested on August 4, 2023, in Tehran’s Kharrazi district by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. She was transferred from Evin Prison’s Ward 209, controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence, to the women’s ward on December 11, 2023.
Previously, on November 16, 2009, Azizi had been detained during a Kurdish student protest at the University of Tehran against the execution of political prisoners in Kurdistan. She was released on bail on March 18, 2010, after four months in detention.
Following years of pressure and threats from security agencies, Azizi left Iran. She later conducted research on the status of women in Iraqi Kurdistan and Syrian Kurdistan, undertaking initiatives to improve their conditions through social work.
