Amnesty International has spoken out on behalf of Maysoon Majidi, a Kurdish activist who was arrested by the Italian financial police of Crotone, in Calabria, on charges of being the smuggler of the boat that arrived on 31 December on the beach of Gabella with 77 migrants onboard.

Since then, Maysoon Majidi, 28, has been in jail in Castrovillari for aiding and abetting clandestine immigration. The woman has denied the charges.

'Previously arrested and tortured in 2019 in Iran'

On Thursday (May 9), on the eve of the hearing in Crotone, Ileana Bello, the director general of the Italian branch of Amnesty International, wrote to Judge Elisa Marchetto, who is tasked with the case.

Bello noted that Majidi, "well known in her country for being a women's rights activist, as well as a film director and theater actress, has collaborated with several Kurdish rights organizations and is currently part of the Hana human rights organization. Majidi was arrested for the first time during the 2019 protests, tortured, and then released."

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Fled from Iranian moral police

Bello noted to the judge that the accused woman fled Iran after facing persecution by the Iranian moral police for her involvement in organizing protests against the regime. Being a woman and part of the Kurdish minority, she faced double discrimination. Aware that she wouldn't receive a stay permit and would risk deportation to Iran if she stayed in Iraqi Kurdistan, Majidi chose to escape via the Ionian route towards Italy.

The Amnesty International director went on to note that "during the uprising of the Woman Life Freedom movement in 2022, the Iranian security forces used rape and other forms of sexual violence to intimidate and punish people who took to the streets to protest, even those of only 12 years old."

She added that Iranian authorities, including magistrates and judges, were complicit in this system, not only by disregarding and concealing reports of rape but also by using coerced confessions obtained through torture to falsely accuse survivors and subsequently sentence them to death.

"In light of these elements," Bello said, "and of the activities carried out by Majidi for the rights of women and the Kurdish minority group, Amnesty International is concerned about her safety and asked that her basic rights be safeguarded and that she be given any necessary medical care."

On Friday, the Comitato Free Maysoon organized a sit-in in front of the Crotone court to show support for Majidi and demand her release.

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