ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iran’s judiciary has overturned the death sentence of Kurdish political prisoner Varisheh Moradi over the “failure to observe legal procedures,” and her case will be reconsidered, her lawyer said Wednesday, amid widespread national and international criticism.

In November 2024, Moradi was sentenced to death by a Tehran court on charges of “armed insurrection” for allegedly being a member of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), which, like most other Kurdish opposition groups, is considered a terrorist organization by Tehran.

“After reviewing the appeal filed in the case of Ms. Varisheh Moradi at the Supreme Court, the verdict issued by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court was overturned and the case was returned to that branch for reconsideration,” Mostafa Nili, Moradi’s lawyer, said in a post on X on Wednesday. 

Nili said the death sentence was overturned “due to deficiencies in the investigation and failure to observe legal procedures,” noting in particular that the court had issued the verdict without ever informing Moradi of the charge it relied on.

Under the laws of the Islamic Republic, courts are required to formally inform defendants of the charges against them, the reasons for the charges, and the evidence supporting them. 

However, many trials in Iran proceed without following these legal procedures, with charges often issued without a just or fair basis, a practice widely condemned by human rights watchdogs.

Iran has frequently arrested individuals and charged them with armed rebellion, or “Baghi,” and “rebellion against God,” often targeting those allegedly linked to major Iranian Kurdish opposition groups.

Moradi, believed to be a member of the East Kurdistan Free Women’s Society (KJAR), joined the organization and fought against the Islamic State (ISIS) in northeast Syria in 2014, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.

Along with political prisoner Pakhshan Azizi, Moradi was accused by news agencies affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of being a trained member of a “terrorist organization” tasked with inciting social unrest following the nationwide 2022 Jin Jiyan Azadi (Women, Life, Freedom) uprising.

Following their death sentences, international criticism erupted, and protests took place in Kurdish areas of western Iran (Rojhelat).