A group of Kurdish women activists staged a protest today in front of the governor’s office in Kurdistan Province to denounce the confirmation of the death sentence against Kurdish political prisoner Pakhshan Azizi. The protesters demanded the immediate cancellation of the sentence and the release of all political and religious prisoners.
During the rally, the activists held up pictures of Azizi and chanted slogans against the death penalty.
They also issued a statement highlighting the unjust nature of the verdict, describing it as a gross violation of human values and a denial of Azizi’s significant contributions to society.
The full text of the statement is as follows:
We have gathered here today to raise our voices against an apparent and unjustifiable injustice. Pakhshan Azizi is a woman who dedicated her life to helping others, a social worker who stood amidst humanitarian crises in refugee camps for over a decade, represents selfless service, resilience in the face of despair, and the embodiment of compassion and kindness.
Pakhshan was not just an ordinary social worker; she was a beacon of hope for thousands of women and children—women who had lost everything to war and destruction, and children who saw nothing but darkness in their future. She was the hand that reached out from the rubble towards life, the voice that broke through the silence imposed on the suffering, advocating for their rights. Her work not only aimed to rebuild the bodies and spirits of those in need but also carried the message that life is possible even amidst crisis and destruction.
Today, however, this courageous woman, instead of being honoured and praised, faces a sentence that not only fails to reflect her services and actions but also symbolises the injustice inflicted on humanitarian efforts.
Pakhshan Azizi is not just an individual; she is a representation of human ideals. She embodies hope, life, and resistance against death and despair. Therefore, any attempt to silence her voice is an attempt to suppress these fundamental values. The sentence against Pakhshan Azizi, an innocent social worker and humanitarian, is unjust, for saving lives and restoring hope to the broken has never been, and will never be, a crime. Revoking this sentence and all other unjust rulings against prisoners of conscience is the bare minimum that can restore some measure of credibility and humanity to the criminal justice system.