Amir Raisian, the lawyer for Pakhshan Azizi’s lawyer, an Iranian Kurd political prisoner sentenced to death, has announced that the Supreme Court’s 39th Branch has upheld her death sentence.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Raeesian stated: “Following the death sentence issued by the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran against Ms. Pakhshan Azizi, we filed an appeal. The appeal was reviewed by the 39th Branch of the Supreme Court, but unfortunately, despite numerous flaws in the case, the appeal was rejected, and the death sentence was confirmed.”
He added, “The investigation’s shortcomings were overlooked, and no attention was given to evidence showing that Ms. Azizi’s case did not warrant a death sentence. Her activities in northern Syria, particularly in the Shingal refugee camp and other camps for those displaced by the ISIS conflict, were peaceful humanitarian efforts, lacking any political dimension and focused on aiding victims of ISIS aggression.”
Azizi was sentenced on July 23, 2024, by the 26th Branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, to death for charges of “rebellion” and four years of imprisonment for “membership in opposition groups.”
Raeesian had previously shared several letters on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), written by domestic and international organizations active in refugee affairs in Syrian Kurdistan. These letters described Azizi as a social worker and humanitarian aid provider. Raeesian stated, “The evidence and documents against Ms. Azizi were so weak that a thorough review could have cleared her of the rebellion charge. Unfortunately, no such review has taken place. Moreover, even though innocence does not require proof, we submitted credible evidence to the Supreme Court.”
The judgment issued by the 26th Branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Azizi to death for “rebellion” through “effective activities and efforts using weapons to advance the goals of groups that have engaged in armed uprising against the Islamic government.” She was also sentenced to four years of imprisonment for “membership in opposition groups” through her alleged affiliation with the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK).
Previously, three family members of Azizi were sentenced by the same court to one year of imprisonment each for “aiding the accused to evade prosecution and sentencing.”
This verdict has been upheld despite Azizi consistently denying all allegations of armed operations and membership in PJAK during her court hearings and interrogations at Evin Prison’s Ward 209 in Tehran.