News of the death sentence handed to Iranian-Kurdish activist and political prisoner, Ms. Varishe Moradi, has triggered a wave of revulsion among the restive progressive and freedom-loving forces in Iran. 

Following the publication of this grim news, a wide campaign of solidarity with Ms. Moradi has taken shape, along with outright condemnation and rejection of the similar verdicts and plights of other women political prisoners in the country. 

In a joint statement, a number of human rights organisations operating in Kordestan province in northwestern Iran issued a message of condemnation which states: “The Kurdish Human Rights Organisations, the Union of Kurdish Women, and the Women of Kurdistan strongly condemn the discriminatory death sentence against Varishe Moradi and declare that it is imperative for all activists in various social spheres to raise their voices more loudly than ever before, everywhere, to [pressure the authorities to] revoke the death sentence of Varishe Moradi and demand her immediate and unconditional release. We must widely declare our support for Varishe Moradi, this resilient and freedom-loving woman, and call for the immediate cancellation of this brutal verdict.”

In a related development, on Sunday 10 November, the women political prisoners of the country’s notorious Evin Prison (the Women’s Ward of Evin Prison) collectively protested the death sentences of Ms. Moradi and Ms. Pakhshan Azizi by chanting slogans in support of the pair during scheduled opening times in the prison yard in defiance of the guards and prison authorities. These slogans included: “The women’s ward of Evin, united and steadfast, against the death sentence, we will stand until the end!”; “Issuing death sentences is the revenge of the tyrants, from Kordestan to every corner of Iran!”; “Our lives may disappear, our heads may fall, but freedom will never be lost!”; and “Political prisoners must be freed!”

In a statement issued by the Women’s Ward of Evin Prison the group underlined their previous repeated warnings, under the banner of their ‘No to Execution’ campaign, of the Islamic Republic regime’s escalating use of death sentences as a means of political retaliation and score-settling with over 42 political prisoners currently facing the imminent threat of execution in Iran.

In a release issued on Saturday 16 November, the group stated: “This authoritarian regime seeks to respond to its repeated failures – domestically and internationally, its weakened military power, security breaches, and the collapse of its regional proxies – by taking the precious lives of political and civil activists. Meanwhile, the enduring and commendable resistance of the people, from Kordestan to Tehran and from Khuzestan to Baluchistan, has only strengthened. The regime spares no violation of human and ethical boundaries to prevent the collapse of its fragile power and to secure its survival.”

“This campaign once again calls upon all awakened consciences and political, trade union, civil, and human rights activists to save the lives of prisoners sentenced to death and to stop and abolish the death penalty in Iran. The issuance of the death sentence only pursues one goal, and that is nothing more than creating an atmosphere of terror and intimidation to slow down or stop the growing wave of protests by the working class and prevent them from organising.

“In response to this united and resounding move by the prisoners, we must demand the cessation of the inhumane death sentence and the release of all political prisoners.”

Throughout its 43-year existence, CODIR has consistently opposed the use of the death penalty in Iran and has repeatedly called for at least an immediate moratorium on capital punishment and the carrying out of death sentences in the country pending its outright and permanent abolition. We fully concur with the positions articulated by numerous civic and political organisations in Iran, including those referenced to in this release, that the death penalty has long been cynically used by the Islamic Republic dictatorship in an unsuccessful attempt to quell the continued and growing opposition to its rule.

We call for pressure to be exerted by the relevant bodies of the United Nations and other influential international organisations on the theocratic regime to at least halt the executions currently pending against scores of Iran’s courageous and principled activists.

Furthermore, CODIR repeats its call for the immediate, unconditional, and safe release of all political prisoners as well as prisoners of conscience currently held by the authorities in Iran.

Office

Central Executive Council