UN human rights experts have expressed deep concern over the confirmation of the death sentence of Iranian political prisoner Pakhshan Azizi’s.
On Tuesday, January 14, UN human rights experts issued a statement expressing deep concern over the Iranian regime’s Supreme Court’s confirmation of the death sentence for Pakhshan Azizi, a human rights activist and social worker. The experts described the ruling as a blatant violation of international human rights laws and called the charges against her entirely baseless.
According to UN experts, Azizi’s arrest and conviction were solely due to her lawful activities as a social worker, particularly her support for refugees in Iraq and Syria. She has been sentenced to death for her civil activism.
Furthermore, UN experts cited reports of psychological and physical torture against Azizi in prison and the violation of her right to a fair trial. Additionally, several of her family members have been temporarily detained and charged with security-related offenses—actions that appear to be aimed at pressuring Azizi into making a forced confession.
The experts also voiced serious concerns over the rising number of death sentences and executions in Iran and called for an end to the targeting of female activists, particularly Kurdish women.
UN Fact-Finding Committee: Azizi’s Execution is an Attack on the 2022 Uprising
The UN Fact-Finding Committee on Iran has also endorsed the human rights experts’ call, describing Azizi’s death sentence as an attack on the 2022 uprising. The committee has demanded the immediate revocation of her sentence and urged countries worldwide to respond to Iran’s human rights violations.
Iran: Confirmation of Death Sentences for Political Prisoners – 54 Political Prisoners on Death Row
Pakhshan Azizi, a social worker and human rights activist, was sentenced to death in August 2024 by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, on charges of “rebellion against the state” (Baghi). Despite multiple legal flaws in the case, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. Azizi’s lawyer has stated that the ruling must be overturned due to its procedural and substantive defects.
Aziz Azizi, Pakhshan’s father, released an audio statement asserting that his daughter was not affiliated with any political party and had only traveled to Syria to aid vulnerable individuals. He added that case documents confirm Pakhshan worked as a social worker in Syria for six to seven years.
