ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The European Parliament voted on Thursday to condemn the death penalties for two Kurdish women in Iran, who it says were denied fair trials.
The parliament “Denounces the Iranian regime’s unrestrained repression of human rights, in particular the targeting of women activists; strongly condemns the death sentence against Pakhshan Azizi and Wrisha [Varisheh] Moradi; demands that Iran immediately and unconditionally release all unjustly imprisoned human rights defenders and political prisoners, including Pakhshan Azizi, Wrisha [Varisheh] Moradi and at least 56 other political prisoners on death row,” reads the resolution that was adopted with 556 votes for, six against, and 42 abstentions.
Pakhshan Azizi was sentenced to death in June 2024 on charges of “armed rebellion,” accused of being a member of an armed Iranian Kurdish group.
Her lawyer denied she ever took up arms, but said she traveled to northeast Syria as a social worker to help victims of the Islamic State (ISIS), according to Amnesty International.
Wrisha (Varisheh) Moradi was sentenced to death by a Tehran court last November on charges of “armed insurrection.” She was accused of being a member of the armed group Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK).
According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, she joined the East Kurdistan Free Women Society and fought against ISIS in northeast Syria in 2014.
“In a normal country, these two would be heroes. In Iran, they face death row,” said German member of the European Parliament Hannah Neumann.
“For the first time in years, the regime threatens to execute women political prisoners and these death sentences are nothing but acts of revenge, revenge by the Islamic regime against women, against Kurds, and against the ideals of Woman Life Freedom, self-determination and bravery,” Neumann said on the floor of the parliament.
In protest of the death sentences, shops and businesses across Kurdish areas of northwest Iran closed their doors on Wednesday. They defied a warning from security forces who said that joining a general strike could mean prosecution for membership in a terrorist organization, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights reported.
After the Woman Life Freedom (Jin Jiyan Azadi) protests of 2022, Iranian authorities have “intensified their use of the death penalty to instill fear among the population and tighten their grip on power,” especially targeting minority populations like Kurds and Baluchis, as well as women, according to Amnesty International.
Iranian officials described the protests as riots backed by foreign entities.
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