Iran rejects retrial of activist Bakhshan Azizi

Azizi’s lawyer, Amir Raeesian, told Shargh newspaper that the Ninth Branch of the Supreme Court issued a ruling on January 25, which was communicated to them on February 5, rejecting the retrial of his client, Bakhshan Azizi.

He explained that "this branch rejected her retrial by declaring that objections to the verdict and trial proceedings are substantive objections." This decision comes despite the fact that the specialized working group of the Supreme Court’s criminal branches, in February 2024, ruled by majority vote that examining paragraph four of Article 474 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and applying it to the reality that the defendant’s act was not a crime, on which the request for retrial was primarily based, constitutes grounds for retrial. The court branches reviewing retrial requests have the authority to decide on a retrial if they find that any of the three elements constituting a crime are missing. This interpretation is entirely consistent with how the court branches approach substantive defenses raised in retrial requests.

Raeesian highlighted other objections to the case, stating, "It is important to note that an error in considering the alleged terrorist organization at the center of the case had previously occurred during the proceedings of the 39th Branch of the Supreme Court at the appeal stage. At that stage, the branch handling the appeal ruled that my client was a member of ISIS. Now, it is astonishing to us that such an error has been repeated multiple times."

He further pointed out flaws in the case, including the simultaneous attribution of Azizi’s membership to multiple political parties, her sentencing to prison for being a member of these parties, and the lack of clarity regarding the reason for her death sentence. He emphasized that "the order to halt the execution, which was issued during the retrial proceedings, was declared invalid on February 1, and the effect of the execution suspension order was announced. Unfortunately, there is a risk of the sentence being carried out at any moment."

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