Seven inmates of Iran’s Evin Prison have written a letter in defence of Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish women’s rights activist imprisoned alongside them, who was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 23 July for membership of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).
In the letter, her cell mates raise her case and highlight the unlawful and baseless trial that led to Pakhshan Azizi’s conviction. They argue that her humanitarian work in North and East Syria “providing humanitarian aid to war victims” is “not a crime”. As they explain, “it is commendable to be present in war zones and provide aid to war-affected women and children, while enduring the dangers of areas surrounded by ISIS forces. The response should not be a death sentence”.
The letter was first published on Iranian human rights defender and writer Golrokh Iraee’s X (formerly Twitter) account. Iraee has been imprisoned in Evin Prison since 26 September 2022.
Read a translation of the full letter below:
“Humanitarian aid to war victims is not a crime.
Being present in war zones and providing assistance to women and children affected by war, and bearing the risks of being in areas surrounded by ISIS forces, is something that should be praised. The response to this should not be a death sentence.
For about a year, we have been sharing a cell with Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker and activist in the field of jineology. After months of solitary confinement, interrogation, and torture, she was transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison. In July of the previous year, in a show court, without meeting with her lawyer in the days leading up to the trial and without the opportunity to defend herself, she was sentenced to death on the base of false accusations.
It has been five months since she has been deprived of contact with her lawyers and family. Even now, while her case has been sent to the Supreme Court (Divan Ali) for review, she is still deprived of the right to meet with her lawyers and consult with them.
Pakhshan spent many years of her life providing humanitarian aid in refugee camps to women and children who had survived ISIS attacks. After returning to Iran and reuniting with her family, she was arrested along with several family members.
Issuing a death sentence for a social worker who dedicated herself to helping the victims of ISIS – whom the Islamic Republic itself claims to fight against – and putting more pressure on her and her family by restricting her basic rights in prison is not without ulterior motives.
We are deeply concerned about the consequences of this sentence. A sentence that we see as a response to the uprising of women against what has been unjustly imposed on them.
Your reaction, before it is too late, will be effective.
Reyhaneh Ansari
Golrokh Iraee
Sakineh Parvaneh
Nahid Khodajo
Nasrin Khazri Jafari
Warisheh Moradi
Maryam Yahyavi
Womens’ Ward, Evin Prison
November 2024”
