Kurdish women activists protest against the confirmation of the death sentence of Pakhshan Azizi in Sanandaj

According to reports received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, a significant number of Kurdish women activists in Sanandaj gathered in front of the Provincial Governorate office of Kurdistan province despite a heavy security presence. They held a protest and read out a statement.

Hengaw has learned that security agencies had issued warnings the previous day against any form of gathering, contacting several women activists by phone to threaten them.

One of the organizers of this protest told Hengaw:
“Our on-ground efforts to revoke the death sentences of Pakhshan and Varisheh will continue in the coming days.”

Full text of the statement which has been obtained by Hengaw: 

Today, we have gathered here to raise our voices against an unjust and indefensible verdict.

Pakhsan Azizi, a woman who dedicated all of her life to helping others, is a social worker who spent over a decade amidst humanitarian crises in refugee camps. She is a symbol of selfless service, resilience in the face of despair, and the embodiment of compassion and kindness.

Pakhsan was not an ordinary social worker; she was a beacon of hope for thousands of women and children—women who had lost everything to war and destruction, and children who saw no light in their futures. She was the helping hand extended from the ruins toward life; the voice that broke the imposed silence on the suffering. Her work not only healed bodies and minds but also carried the message that life is possible amid crisis and devastation.

Yet today, this courageous woman, instead of receiving recognition and praise, faces a sentence that not only contradicts her humanitarian efforts but also epitomizes injustice against acts of kindness and humanity.

Pakhshan Azizi is not merely an individual; she embodies human ideals. She represents hope, life, and resistance against death and despair. Silencing her voice is an attempt to suppress these fundamental values.

The sentence issued against Pakhsan Azizi—a compassionate and innocent social worker—is unjust. Saving lives and restoring hope has never been, and will never be a crime. The revocation of this sentence, along with all unjust sentences against prisoners of conscience, is the minimum step needed to restore some semblance of moral and human credibility to the justice system.