Article below published by the Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran : Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ) is a non-governmental organization, established and registered in 2014 that is based in Norway. As parts of core activities, it provides regular updates on the situation of human rights of the Azerbaijani Turkic populations who are living in Iran. Focus areas are situation of the people deprived of their right to freedom and life as well as rights of women and workers. AHRAZ only publishes reports that are verified by authentic and multiple sources. Azerbaijani Turks (known and called as Turks in Iran) who speak the south-west branch of the Turkic languages, Azerbaijani Turkic, comprises the largest ethnic and language minority population in Iran with the majority living in the Azerbaijani region, located in the north-west of Iran, mainly in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, and Zanjan. Many other Turkic populations also live in other regions andprovinces of Iran. Deprived of their political, civil and cultural/linguistic rights, many Azerbaijani Turk activists ask for the recognition of their ethnic rights and respect to them by the Iranian Government who, in turn, rejects these demands, arrest and condemns them to heavy sentences in prison and put them under constant psychological torture/harassments as well as physical tortures under interrogation and/or in detention.

On 15.01.2019, Iranian security officials arrested Abbas Lesani, prominent Azerbaijani Turk activist after he was present at Tabriz Revolutionary Court, Branch II. Regardless of continuous follow-up by his family and others, there is still no accurate news on the location of his detention and his current condition. His situation is becoming worse. Iranian officials have rejected Lesani`s family request for family visits. This issues together with Lesani`s hunger strike has caused serious concerns over his situation. On 12 February 2019, Tabriz Revolutionary Court rejected Lesani`s appeal to the court and so conformed court order for 10 months in prison on the accusation of “propaganda against the system and for the benefit of the opposition groups”. On the order from Ardabil City Revolutionary Court, Abbas Lesani was arrested on 05 January 2019 and was transferred to the Tabriz Prison to start his sentence for 10 months in prison. However, he was then temporarily released on bail. On 02 July 2018, Iranian Ministry of Intelligence officials in Ardabil City arrested Abbas Lesani, just a few days after he attended annual gathering of the Azerbaijani Turks in Babak Castel. He was then released on bail on 11 July 2018. He had released a video to encourage attendance of more people at this annual gathering.

A court was held for three Azerbaijani Turk activists from Naghadeh City, West Azerbaijan Province. On 16 January 2019, the Court branch 103 in Naghadeh City held a session to review accusations made against three Azerbaijani activists, Olduz Ghasemi, Javad Ahmadi Yekanlias well as Amir Sattari Raouf. Their accusations are “propaganda against the system through attendance in unlawful assembly”. At this session, Amir Sattari could not attend because he was in Tabriz Prison to spend his sentence in prison for 7 months. This court was held in connection to celebrating the 12thanniversary of the Azerbaijanis popular mass protests against racism that was held in June 2006 in the Azerbaijani region of Iran, during which some Azerbaijani protesters were killed by security forces. These three activists were then released from Ministry of Intelligence place of detention on bail. Olduz Ghasemi have been previously detained several times. On 10 November 2018, she was sentenced to a year in prison. She is accused of “propaganda against the system through lecturing over grave of Farzad Asad Pour who was killed by the security forces during popular mass protest of the Azerbaijani Turkic people against racism in June 2006.

On 10 February 2019, security officials in Ardabil city of the Azerbaijani region of Iran inspected homes and working place of some of the Azerbaijani Turk activists such as Mortaza Parvin, Mehdi Doostdar, Rahim Norouzi, Ali Vaseghi and Mazaher Maali. This was in connection with writing slogans on city walls in larger scales in support of Abbas Lesani, prominent Azerbaijani activist. These activists have several times experienced pressure and surveillance made by both security and judiciary agents. They were also arrested during Babak Castle annual gatherings in June 2018.

Mrs. Hakimeh Ahmadi, Azerbaijani Turk activist has been in custody since 18 October 2018. She is still under interrogation by the Intelligence Service of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guardian Corps in Marand City in Eastern Azerbaijan Province. She is accused of “acting against national security” and “forming an illegal group”. On 03 November 2018, she underwent hospital treatment for rib cage and finger injuries that occurred under severe physical and psychological tortures and interrogation sessions and at harsh detention conditions. The Iranian authorities had refused to disclose where she had been admitted, did not allow her husband to visit her, and asked her husband to cover her medical treatments that resulted from torture.

On 14 January 2019, Mohammad Dorosti, Azerbaijani Turk activist, was sentenced to six months imprisonment by the first branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Court in the City of Khoy, West Azerbaijan Province. He was accused of “propaganda against the state”. On 09 December 2019, he was arrested while he was distributing a leaflet about anniversary of the establishment of the Iranian Azerbaijan National Government. On 12 January 1945, Azerbaijan Democratic Party of Iran announced Azerbaijan National Government establishment in Tabriz that short-lived unrecognized secessionist state in the north-west Iran until December 1946. During that time, Azerbaijani people in Iran could exercise most of their political and cultural rights.

On 02 February 2019, the appeal court of Eastern Azerbaijan Province confirmed 27 months in prison sentence for the Azerbaijani Turk activist, Mohammad Abdolmohammad-Zadehwho was arrested on 10 October 2018. He is sentenced to 15 months imprisonment on the accusation of “insulting the Supreme Leader” and 12 months for “propaganda against the state”.

Death penalty (executed prisoners in the Azerbaijani region of Iran):

The following 18 prisoners were sentenced to life imprisonment and executed, from and in the Azerbaijani Region of Iran:

Karim Mohebbei, accused of murder, was executed in Tabriz Central Prison on 19 January 2019. Amir Nosrat Khah, 38 years old accused of murder, was executed in Zanjan Prison on 23 January 2019. Five prisoners, names of whom are not published by the Iranian authorities, who were accused of being active in a drugs distribution network, were executed in Khoy City, West Azerbaijan Province, based on an official news released on 2 January 2019. Zaman Rezayie, 62 years old from Miandoab City, West Azerbaijan Province, accused of murder, was executed in Urmia Central Prison on 31 December 2018. Yunes Azizifrom Naghadeh City, West Azerbaijan Province, accused in connection to drugs, was executed in Urmia Prison on 10 December 2018. Another person, name of whom is not published, accused of sexual assault or unlawful sexual contact and robbery, was executed in Qazvin City, based on an official news released on 9 December 2019. Soran Rashid Zahedi, a 33 years old Iraqi citizen accused of murder, was executed in Zanjan Central Prison on 6 Nov. 2018. He had lived 28 years in Iran Meisam Saber, a 28 years old man accused of murder was executed in Ardabil Prison on 21 October 2018. Aslan Shirani, a 33 years old man from Miyan-do-ab (Qoshachay) City, West Azerbaijan Province accused of murder, was executed in the Prison of Maragheh, Eastern Azerbaijan Province, on 14 October 2018. Ramin Majidifar, a man accused of kidnapping and rape was executed in the Prison of Hamadan, on 9 October 2018. Hamed Valizadeh, a 38 years old man from the City of Abhar, East Azerbaijan Province accused of murder, was executed in the Central Prison of Qazvin, on 2 October 2018. Mr. Salman Khan-Alilu, Mr. Hasan Hajilouas well as Mrs. Zaynab Sokanvand(accused of murdering her husband when she was 17 years old), were all executed on 10 October 2018 in the Prison of Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province.







Recommendations:

Association for the Human Rights of the Azerbaijani People in Iran (AHRAZ) urges the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to fully respect civil, political, cultural, and linguistic and minority rights of the Azerbaijani Turks who comprise the largest minority population living in Iran, alongside of other minority populations who are also deprived of the above-mentioned rights.

the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) that it signed in 1967 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) signed in 1968 and ratified it in 1975 by Iran.

AHRAZ urges the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect the United Nations Convention against Torture, Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as well as the United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

AHRAZ urges the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran totreat all detainees and prisoners humanely in the Iranian places of detention and prisons and refrain from subjecting them to any form of psychological harassments and physical tortures.

AHRAZ urges the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to put an immediate end to practicing death penalty and executing hundreds of people annually that not only takes lives of many people, but psychologically and economically affects many lives in Iran.