Kurdish journalist and activist Pakshan Azizi was detained by Iranian security forces on 4 August 2023 in Tehran while she was with her family. On 11 December 2023, Pakshan Azizi was arrested on charges of "engaging in armed activities against the Iranian government" and sentenced to death by the Tehran Revolutionary Court on 23 July 2024 on the same charges. Iran's Supreme Judicial Council upheld Pakshan Azizi's death sentence in early January 2025.

 

On 14 January, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council Special Rapporteurs stated that Pakshan Azizi's death sentence violated international law and called for its abolition. The execution of the sentence was suspended after the lawyers requested a retrial. However, it was decided to continue Pakshan Azizi's detention.

 

Professor Nicolas Levrat, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, who is one of the 11 UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteurs working on "children, women, execution, human rights, minorities" and who called for a halt to the execution of Pakshan Azizi, evaluated the issue to Mezopotamya Agency (MA).

 

'NO EVIDENCE OF A FAIR TRIAL'

 

Levrat reminded that the rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council do not have the authority to intervene in member states. Levrat stated that what they can do is to prepare reports and establish a dialogue with the countries through the reports prepared and try to ensure that improvements are made regarding the problems. Stating that he is the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and that he intervened in the case because Pakshan Azizi is a member of the Kurdish "minority", Levrat said, "In the case we are discussing, it is a woman from a Kurdish minority. So the reason I intervene is not because she's a woman, but because she's Kurdish. But it is true that there is a specific targeting of women by the Iranian regime. And so there is an additional factor, that this person is a woman, is from the Kurdish minority, and very clearly, one of the reason why she's been in sentence is because she has been collecting activities precisely in these areas which are populated by Kurds, which are in Iran, in Iraq, in Syria, in Turkey. This is epitomize the situation of the Kurdish minority in Iran."

 

As special rapporteurs, they reacted to the death sentence against Pakshan Azizi as a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Iran is obliged to implement, Levrat said, "Beyond ruling for revision of such sentence and making our voice heard, we have no power to directly intervene. Death penalty is not contrary to general international law. It is very positive that many countries have suppressed this penalty, but it still exists in many countries, and we can only try to warn that. In this case, we have no proof that it was a fair trial. From what we know, the accusation do not seem as grave as to justify this sentence."

 

'THE SITUATION OF THE KURDS IS VERY BAD'

 

Reminding that a state is required to become a member of the UN, Levrat said that the Kurdish people were therefore not subject to a binding agreement. Levrat reminded that the UN General Assembly issued the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities in 1992, but since there is no treaty, minority problems in countries cannot be intervened directly. Levrat, "What we can do is to react to allegation that we receive. We daily receive allegation of violation of human rights, and we investigate based on the delegation, and if the allegation deemed to be serious, then we can take contact with the state which is concerned, asking for explanation, and hopefully engage the dialog. We don't have any autonomous power. We have to work with governments. And if the government accepts to receive us, to receive our report, we can try to find paths to improve the situation of minority, in my case. But again, we don't have any autonomous power. In the end, it is the states who are sovereign in the country, and hopefully we can find good arguments. Unfortunately, the situation for the Kurdish minority in the country where they are present, and I'm not talking about the diaspora, I'm talking where they historically live, is not good, it's very bad, and it is difficult to have cooperation with government on this issue." 

 

'DIALOGUE WITH IRAN IS NOT EASY'

 

Levrat noted that the Iranian regime has not taken any positive steps despite the proposals made so far, and said: "I know how difficult the situation is in Iran in general, as we got respect of human rights, women's rights, and specifically as regards some minorities, including the Kurds. I'm trying to engage and to have dialog with Iranian authorities, because I think it is the most efficient way to improve situation. But it is not easy. It's difficult. And again, I'm trying a step by step approach. I know it will not produce spectacular effects on the short term, but at least I hope there will be some positive effects in the years of my mandate."

 

MA / Hîvda Çelebi