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Humanitarian worker and civil society activist Pakhshan Azizi was sentenced to death for peaceful humanitarian and human rights activities. Sign the petition calling for her immediate release.

Pakhshan Azizi was convicted of “armed rebellion against the state” solely in relation to her peaceful human rights and humanitarian activities, including providing humanitarian support to women and children displaced following attacks by the Islamic State armed group and sheltering in camps in northeast Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq between 2014 and 2022.

On 4 August 2023, Ministry of Intelligence agents arbitrarily arrested Pakhshan Azizi from her family home in Tehran and subjected to her an enforced disappearance, a crime under international law, by refusing to disclose her whereabouts to her family.

She was held in prolonged solitary confinement for five months without access to a lawyer and her family, subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during interrogations. Agents repeatedly told her that she had no right to live and threatened to execute her.

In early December 2023, she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin prison. Pakhshan Azizi’s trial, which took place over two sessions on 28 May and 16 June 2024, was grossly unfair. She was denied adequate time and facilities to prepare her defence.

Sign the petition and join us in demanding the Iran authorities halt plans to execute Pakhshan Azizi, quash her conviction and death sentence and release her immediately and unconditionally. 

 

Sign the Petition

  Our Petition
 
 

Head of judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei

Dear Mr Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, 

I am writing to express my profound concern regarding humanitarian aid worker and civil society activist Pakhshan Azizi, who was sentenced to death in July 2024. She was convicted of “armed rebellion against the state” solely in relation to her peaceful human rights activities, including providing humanitarian support to women and children displaced following attacks by the Islamic State armed group and sheltering in camps in northeast Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq between 2014 and 2022.

Pakhshan Azizi was arrested from her family home in Tehran on 4 August 2023 and subjected to enforced disappearance by refusing to disclose her whereabouts to her family, a crime under international law.

She was then transferred to section 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison, under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, and was held in prolonged solitary confinement for five months without access to a lawyer and her family. Reports indicate that during this time Pakhshan Azizi was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during interrogations. Agents repeatedly told her that she had no right to live and threatened to execute her.

In early December 2023, she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin prison. Pakhshan Azizi’s trial, which took place over two sessions on 28 May and 16 June 2024, was grossly unfair. She was denied adequate time and facilities to prepare her defence.

I urge the Iranian authorities to:

  • Halt any plans to execute Pakhshan Azizi, quash her conviction and death sentence and release her immediately and unconditionally, as she is held solely for her peaceful humanitarian work and human rights activism.
  • Ensure that pending her release, she is provided with adequate healthcare and regular visits from family and lawyers.
  • Guarantee that she is protected from further torture and other ill-treatment and order an independent, effective and impartial investigation into her torture allegations, bringing anyone suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials.
  • Immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]