Political prisoner Varishe Moradi has been sentenced to death by the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Her lawyers were formally notified of the death sentence on Sunday morning, November 10, 2024. The sentence was issued by Branch 15, presided over by Judge Salavati.
The case’s initial hearing took place on June 17, 2024, during which Judge Salavati denied Moradi’s lawyers the opportunity to present a defense. A second session was scheduled for August 4, 2024, but Moradi refused to attend in protest against the death sentences given to fellow political prisoners Sharifeh Mohammadi and Pakhshan Azizi. The third hearing, set for August 28, 2024, was canceled due to the absence of both the prosecutor’s representative and Judge Amozad.
About Political Prisoner Varishe Moradi
Political prisoner Varishe Moradi was arrested by security forces in Sanandaj on August 1, 2023. She was interrogated and tortured while held at a local intelligence detention center before being transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, and later to the women’s ward. During this period, she spent more than five months in solitary confinement. While in prison, she endured torture and pressure from security officials, who sought to force a confession from her.
In April 2024, under orders from Judge Salavati, Varishe Moradi was moved from the women’s ward back to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, prompting her to go on a hunger strike in protest.
Excerpts of Varisheh Moradi’s letter:
On July 31, 2023, I was arrested at the Sanandaj-Kamyaran checkpoint by Ministry of Intelligence forces. They fired shots, shattered the car windows, subjected me to physical assault, and tortured me during the arrest. From psychological warfare and interrogation in solitary confinement (white torture), hidden from cameras to avoid recording their abusive behavior, to humiliating questions and pressures during 13 days at Sanandaj Intelligence, I endured a fraction of the pressure imposed upon me. They called me “savage” and said, “You’ve lost your womanhood! Why don’t you cry? When was the last time you cried? When was the last time you smelled a flower?”
Then, they transferred me to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, where I was subjected to months of intense interrogations under immense pressure, including white torture, contradictory and deceptive scenarios, threats to assassinate my character, and forced confessions. I suffered severe headaches, constant nosebleeds, and worsening neck and back pain from my time in solitary confinement.
On December 26, 2023, I was moved to the women’s ward of Evin. Finally, on April 9, 2024, I was formally charged at Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court with “membership in opposition groups” and “armed rebellion.” But the fundamental question remains: “Why is fighting a terrorist force like ISIS considered equivalent to fighting the Islamic Republic?” Where does the Islamic Republic’s claim of fighting ISIS fall in history, then? ISIS beheads us, and the Islamic Republic hangs us. No political or legal doctrine can resolve this paradox. So, let us be vigilant.
During my one-year pre-trial detention, I was allowed family visitation for only three and a half months. The rest of the time I spent either in solitary confinement or, as now, in the women’s ward but under isolation-like conditions.
After ten months in detention, between May 15 and May 17, 2024, I was branded as a terrorist and equated with ISIS at Evin, without regard to my record and background. I was told I should have gone to Syria on behalf of the government as a “Defender of the Shrine.” Based on this logic, does that mean everyone who fought against ISIS on humanitarian grounds should also be deemed a terrorist?
In the past three months, they have also attempted to attribute new charges to me. I faced baseless and absurd claims, coercive interrogations, humiliation, threats of execution, incitement, and pressure for a forced confession. It’s now nearly three months since the recent interrogations began, yet neither my lawyers nor I have been granted permission to review my case or meet with them. I am also currently denied any contact or visitation.
Looking back at my journey, I stand by my actions, as I have never in any place or time caused the slightest harm to anyone’s life or property. My only “crime” is my sense of responsibility toward society…
