Verisheh Moradi
A Kurdish activist sentenced to death for speaking out against the Iranian regime after an unfair trial for “rebelling against the state.”
5/8/20241 min read
Verisheh Moradi is a Kurdish woman from Sanandaj, a city in Iran’s Kurdistan Province. She was arrested by Iranian security forces on 1 August 2023 for allegedly supporting Kurdish rights and expressing her opinions online and in her community. After her arrest, she was taken to an unknown location where she was held in solitary confinement, beaten, and forced to confess to crimes she did not commit.
In November 2024, she was sentenced to death by a Revolutionary Court on the charge of “baghi” (armed rebellion against the state). No credible evidence was presented, and her lawyer was not allowed to defend her properly. Human-rights organisations, including Amnesty International, confirmed that her so-called confession was extracted under torture and that her trial was grossly unfair.
Verisheh’s case represents how the Iranian regime targets Kurdish women as both political and ethnic threats. Her courage in speaking out about repression and inequality made her a target for punishment. The authorities used her as an example to instil fear among others — a warning to any Kurdish woman who dares to challenge injustice or demand equal rights.
Her story is now shared widely by activists who see her as a symbol of strength, resistance, and the ongoing struggle of Kurdish women in Iran who risk their lives for freedom and dignity.
