Iran sentences to death Kurdish women's rights activist Varisheh Moradi amid broader crackdown

Iran's Revolutionary Court has sentenced Kurdish women's rights advocate Varisheh Moradi to death on charges of "armed rebellion," citing alleged ties with the banned Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), according to the Hengaw Organiaation for Human Rights. 

A member of the Free Women's Society of East Kurdistan, Moradi launched a 20-day hunger strike in October in protest of Iran's treatment of activists and the increasing use of capital punishment, coinciding with the World Day Against the Death Penalty.

In a separate case, three Kurdish men—Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasul Ahmad Muhammad—have also been sentenced to death. On 5 November 2024, judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri announced that the three had allegedly smuggled equipment used in the assassination of senior nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh Mohabadi, disguised as alcohol transport. The men were tried by Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Urmia, and their cases gained attention following recent Israeli strikes on Iranian military bases.

Iran's use of the death penalty has drawn significant international scrutiny. Amnesty International reported a 48 percent increase in executions in 2023, with at least 853 people put to death, making Iran the world’s second-leading executioner after China. 

Human rights groups have voiced growing alarm over Iran's escalating use of capital punishment, particularly against activists and ethnic minorities.

Meanwhile, United Nations experts in September accused Iran of intensifying its repression of women, noting a trend of death sentences for women activists. This crackdown has worsened since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in police custody in September 2022 after being detained in Tehran for allegedly breaching Iran's dress code requiring headscarves for women. Amini's death sparked widespread protests across Iran, demanding greater rights for women and freedom of expression.

Two years on, the UN's independent fact-finding mission on Iran stated that "Iran has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and crush remaining initiatives of women's activism." The experts, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, continue to investigate the Iranian government's violent crackdown on protests and increased repression of women's rights since Amini's death.

The recent death sentences for Moradi and the three Kurdish men have prompted renewed calls from international watchdogs for Iran to reform its judicial process and ensure fair trials for political activists and minority groups.