Iran overturns death sentence for Kurdish leftist leader Verisheh Moradi

Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned the death sentence of a prominent Kurdish leftist leader, citing “deficiencies” in the original ruling.

Verisheh Moradi, a member of the Community of Free Women of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR) who previously fought against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, has been on death row in Iran since November 2024 over her support for the Mahsa Amini protests.

The state accused her of "armed rebellion" for backing the protests, which broke out after the death of a Kurdish woman arrested in Tehran for "inappropriate hijab".

Moradi's lawyer said in a post on X that after reviewing the case, the Supreme Court annulled the verdict "due to deficiencies in the investigation and failure to observe legal formalities (failure to inform of the charge forming the basis for issuing the death sentence during the proceedings)".

"The verdict issued by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court was annulled, and the case was referred back to that branch for further proceedings," wrote Mustafa Nili. 

Moradi, originally from Sanandaj province, was first arrested in August 2023 on accusations that included alleged membership of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), the Iranian wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

In 2014, she was wounded while fighting to defend the Kurdish-majority town of Ain al-Arab, or Kobane, in Syria from an attack by IS.

In June this year, she was among the signatories of a letter from prison condemning Israel's war on Iran. The letter criticised those suggesting the country's opposition could overthrow the Islamic Republic while Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

According to Iranian rights groups, Moradi spent nearly five months in solitary confinement while being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

Nobel prize laureate arrested

Speaking to Middle East Eye earlier this year, Deniz Derya, a member of KJAR's coordination council, said Moradi had been suffering from serious health issues, including a "cervical disc rupture and spinal canal stenosis".

She also highlighted the deteriorating conditions facing another comrade, Zeynab Jalalian, who had also endured "years of severe torture" since she was first arrested in 2008. 

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Pakhshan Azizi, another KJAR member, was also sentenced to death in July 2024 over her involvement in the Mahsa Amini protests.

Iran's use of the death penalty has provoked widespread international criticism.

At least 975 people were executed in Iran in 2024, the highest number reported since 2015, according to a report by the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Also on Friday, Nobel-prize winning activist Narges Mohammadi was returned to prison in Iran after spending a year on provisional release for health reasons.

The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate was arrested while attending a memorial ceremony for a prominent lawyer who died last week.

"The Narges Mohammadi Foundation announced that it had received credible information that Narges Mohammadi was violently detained by security and police forces approximately one hour ago, during the seventh-day memorial ceremony for Khosrow Alikordi," her support committee and family announced.

Mohammadi, who has been convicted and imprisoned multiple times, was awarded Nobel prize for "her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and for the promotion of human rights and freedom for all" and had been on provisional release since December 2024.