Two Kurdish activists sentenced to death in Iran

Iran sentences Kurdish activist social worker to death Pashan AzizThe death sentence is the second in recent weeks for a political prisoner in Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Rasht sentenced a labor activist to death. Sharifi MohammadiBoth men have been accused of armed rebellion against the state, according to Kurdish media reports.

Another Kurdish activist is in jail awaiting trial on similar charges Virisa’s DaughterReport by members of the Free Women’s Association of Eastern Kurdistan Voice of America.

Kurdish human rights group Hengaw noted that Aziz was sentenced to death “after being denied access to a lawyer and family visits for months and her trial was conducted in an opaque and unfair manner.”

In an open letter, the death row inmate recounted the violent arrest of her family, the brutal torture she suffered in custody, and her political views and activities. She wrote, among other things, that during interrogation she was hanged and even buried alive, and that her extended family was also tortured.

Aziz has been arrested several times in the past. She was first arrested in November 2009 during a student protest against political executions in Kurdistan. She has faced multiple charges of being part of an opposition group, which she has strongly denied.

According to the portal, 60 female inmates protested against Aziz’s death sentence at Tehran’s Evin prison on Wednesday. Iran International.

As early as early July, the Norway-based Iranian Human Rights Organization warned that the number of executions could increase after Iran’s presidential election, as the number of executions in Iran has increased sharply after elections in the past.

Amnesty International’s annual death penalty report released in May also noted the increasing number of executions in Iran. Last year, nearly three-quarters of the world’s recorded executions were carried out by Iran. The report also noted that the Iranian government has recently increased its use of the death penalty to “instill fear in the people and strengthen its power.”