JINHA

NEWS CENTER – Political prisoners from women's Kurdish militant group PAJK have called for support for Zeyneb Celaliyan, jailed in Iran for alleged PAJK membership.

Iranian security forces arrested Kurdish woman activist Zeyneb (Zeynep) Celaliyan in 2008 in the Eastern Kurdish city of Kermanshah. The Iranian regime, accusing Zeyneb of membership in PAJK (Kurdish Women's Liberation Party) with very little evidence, ordered her execution in 2009. It is common for the Iranian regime to accuse Kurdish activists on charges of being "enemies of God" based on their alleged membership in Kurdish political parties.

Zeynev, who has been held in the Dizel Abad prison for the last seven years, has experienced torture and been denied medical treatment. Although solidarity efforts have led to the stay of Zeyneb's execution, she is currently at risk of losing her eyesight due to the regime's denial of medical treatment in jail.

PAJK women political prisoners today announced a letter-writing campaign in support of Zeynep. They denounced the Iranian regime's persecution of the Kurdish people and Kurdish women struggling for their own betterment and called on progressive and democratic forces around the world to support her.

"Until the repression of Zeyneb Celaliyan ends and she is released, we will be writing a letter to an international institution every week to raise awareness on this issue," announced Kajîn Perî, speaking on behalf of the PAJK political prisoners.

(şg/gc/fk/cm)