United Nations human rights experts expressed serious concern on Tuesday regarding the Iranian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the death sentence of Kurdish activist Pakhshan Azizi.

Experts said that the death sentence is a serious violation of international human rights law, as the severity of the charges against Azizi “do not meet the threshold of most serious crimes”. The UN experts stated that Azizi’s arrest and conviction may be linked to her legitimate activities as a social worker, including her support for refugees in Iraq and Syria. They said, that the use of torture to extract confessions, as well as the denial of the right to a fair trial, “render the death sentence against Ms. Azizi arbitrary in nature”. They further urged Iranian authorities to overturn Pakhshan Azizi’s death sentence, conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of torture and due process violations, and end the ongoing harassment and persecution of women activists in Iran. 

Pakhshan Azizi is a humanitarian worker and women’s rights and gender equality activist. She was arrested by Iranian intelligence services in Tehran on August 4, 2023, along with several members of her family. She was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison for five months, where she was subjected to severe psychological and physical torture to coerce a confession in armed insurrection and membership of opposition groups. Azizi was also denied access to family visits and legal representation of her choice.

A Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Azizi to four years in prison and death on July 23, 2024, for alleged membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) and charges of “armed insurrection” and “membership to opposition groups”. The decision was upheld on January 8, 2025, by the Iranian Supreme Court.

Kurdish women activists also expressed their condemnation of Azizi’s sentence. During a protest in front of the Kurdistan Provincial Governor’s office on January 15, they demanded the immediate annulment of the verdict and the release of all political and religious prisoners.

The crackdown on human rights lawyers and other dissenters is expanding in Iran as a part of its suppression of dissent. Some individuals face professional bans, and baseless charges for challenging abuses, while others are sentenced to prison. International organizations like Amnesty International confirm the repression against women activists. This occurs particularly against those who defend their right to choose to wear the hijab, including chases to stop women drivers on the road, mass confiscation of their cars, imprisonment, and flogging. Other punishments amount to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.