Kurdish political prisoner Varisheh Moradi sentenced to additional six months in prison
Hengaw – Wednesday, May 13, 2026
Varisheh Moradi, a Kurdish political prisoner from Sanandaj (Sine) held in the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran, has been sentenced by the Iranian judiciary to an additional six months in prison for writing a letter marking the anniversary of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.
According to information obtained by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Moradi, a member of KJAR (Kurdistan Free Women’s Society), was convicted in a new case on charges of “propaganda against the state” through publishing a letter on the anniversary of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising. The new six-month prison sentence has been added to her previous and ongoing judicial cases.
According to the Campaign for the Freedom of Varisheh Moradi, the charge stems from written statements she published in connection with the anniversary of the movement. She was informed of the new sentence last week.
Moradi had previously been sentenced to death by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, on charges of “baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in the Free Life Party of Kurdistan(PJAK).”
That death sentence was later overturned by Branch 9 of Iran’s Supreme Court due to deficiencies in the investigation and was referred back to Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court for retrial.
In another joint case involving four other political prisoners held in Evin Prison, Moradi had also been sentenced to six months in prison by Branch 2 of the Qods Judicial Complex Criminal Court in Tehran, presided over by Judge Abolfazl Ameri Shahroudi.
Moradi was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison on Tuesday, December 26, 2023, after spending five months in solitary confinement in Ward 209, the Intelligence Ministry detention unit inside Evin Prison.
She had previously been transferred to Ward 209 in late August 2023 after undergoing interrogation and torture in the Intelligence Ministry detention center in Sanandaj.
Varisheh Moradi was arrested on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, by Intelligence Ministry forces on the road between Marivan and Sanandaj. She was severely beaten during the arrest and transferred to detention without receiving medical treatment.
