Kurdish Dissident Sentenced to Death After Unfair Trial in Iran

In November 2024, Verisheh Moradi — a dissident from Iran’s Kurdish minority — was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. She was convicted of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi), though she has denied taking up arms. Amnesty International states that her trial was “grossly unfair,” and her claims of torture and mistreatment were never properly investigated.

Verisheh’s story includes serious abuses during her arrest and detention. On 1 August 2023, agents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence arrested her violently in Sanandaj. According to her open letter from prison, the agents fired upon her car—shattering windows—and physically assaulted her. She was held in solitary confinement in Section 209 of Evin Prison, where she experienced headaches, nosebleeds, and severe neck and back pain after repeated interrogations.

Moradi also alleges that, during her confinement, her rights were further violated: since May 2024, she has been denied family visits as a reprisal for her activism, and new charges were brought against her in September 2024 linked to protests she and other imprisoned activists held inside Evin prison. Her appeal before Iran’s Supreme Court is ongoing, but no decision has been reported yet.

This case is part of a broader pattern: human rights organisations see the sentencing of Moradi as another example of how Iran is using the death penalty to intimidate and silence Kurdish activists and critics. Amnesty International is calling on the international community to pressure Iran to quash her death sentence, investigate her claims of torture, and guarantee her fair treatment under law.

Source: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/urgent-actions/kurdish-dissident-sentenced-death-iran