The Florence City Council has unanimously approved honorary citizenship for Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish humanitarian worker and human rights activist facing imminent execution in Iran. This decision, made on 18 February, is part of a global effort to save Azizi’s life and draw attention to her unjust death sentence.
Stefania Collesei, president of Florence’s Equal Opportunities Commission, underscored the significance of this decision: “Pakhshan Azizi’s civil commitment reflects the founding principles and values of the city of Florence. For this reason, we stand in full solidarity with her and call for her to be granted honorary citizenship, ensuring she is saved from an unjust death sentence.”
The proposal, submitted by several council members including Collesei, Luca Milani, Cristiano Balli, Alessandra Innocenti, Andrea Ciulli, Renzo Pampaloni, Caterina Arciprete, Giovanni Graziani, Michela Monaco, Dmitrij Palagi, and Cecilia Del Re, aims to support Azizi and raise public awareness of her case. Florence, renowned for its commitment to peace and human rights, hopes this symbolic gesture will help build international pressure on Iranian authorities to halt her execution.
Pakhshan Azizi, 40, was arrested by Iranian intelligence services on 4 August 2023 and sentenced to death in July 2024 on charges of “armed rebellion” under Article 287 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code.
Human rights organisations have condemned her trial as grossly unfair, emphasising that her work primarily focused on providing humanitarian aid to women and children in refugee camps across northeast Syria and northern Iraq.
This proposal aims to offer support to Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish human rights activist and political prisoner in Iran, while also drawing public attention to her plight.
Although Azizi's case has sparked widespread international attention, with protests in cities from Brussels to Cape Town and petitions demanding her release and the overturning of her death sentence, the risk of execution at any moment remains very real.
Azizi’s case has drawn global attention, with UN experts expressing alarm over the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold her death sentence. Amnesty International and other human rights groups continue to call for urgent intervention, stressing the peaceful nature of her humanitarian work.
As the international community rallies to save Pakhshan Azizi, Florence’s decision to grant her honorary citizenship stands as a powerful act of solidarity and a resolute statement against injustice.
