KURDISH DISSIDENT SENTENCED TO DEATH IN IRAN

Dear Mr. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei,

Verisheh (Wrishe) Moradi, 39, from Iran’s oppressed Kurdish ethnic minority and a member of the group East Kurdistan Free Woman Society (known by the acronym KJAR), is at risk of execution following a grossly unfair trial. She was convicted of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi) in relation to allegations of her affiliation with Kurdish opposition groups. Her appeal is pending before the Supreme Court.

On August 1, 2023, Ministry of Intelligence agents violently arrested Verisheh Moradi in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, and subjected her to enforced disappearance for nearly four months by refusing to disclose her whereabouts to her family. In an August 2024 open letter from prison, Verisheh Moradi revealed that agents subjected her to torture and other ill-treatment during arrest.

After a three-week long hunger strike in October 2024, her pre-existing intestinal issues were exacerbated, but the authorities continue to deny her access to adequate health care. For most of her detention, authorities have denied and/or severely limited her contact with family, including since May 2024 when they barred her from family visits.

I urge you to immediately halt any plans to execute Verisheh Moradi, quash her conviction and death sentence, and release her as her detention is arbitrary due to severe non-observance of her fair trial rights. Pending her release, provide her with adequate healthcare, including outside prison if necessary, and regular visits from family and lawyers; protect her from further torture and other ill-treatment, and order an independent, effective and impartial investigation into her torture allegation, bringing anyone suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]