Iranian authorities have increased the repression of Azerbaijani activists who hope to end discrimination against minorities in Iran. These activists organize ceremonies of that are of cultural significance to Azerbaijani Iranians. People participating in these ceremonies are arbitrarily detained without being tried or even informed of the reason for the detention. They are usually denied access to a lawyer and are generally tortured or subjected to other ill-treatments.
Three Azerbaijani activists detained over two months without trial
Abdullah Abbasi Javan, an architect and lecturer at Tehran’s University of Shahid Rajai and his nephew Huseyn Huseyni (Hossein Hosseini), the former president of the students union at the University of Razi, Ardebil were arrested on November 13, 2008 while participating in the anniversary of Settar Khan celebrations. (Settar Khan is a national hero for Azerbaijani Iranians, who lead the constitutional movements in 1906-14.) The two were taken to the notorious section 209 of Evin Prison, which is run by the Iranian Intelligence Service. Recent efforts by family members of the two prisoners to establish their whereabouts have been in vain. They were intimidated by security agents and asked to stop referring to courts of justice. The only communication between the victims and their families since the men were imprisoned over two months ago has been a less than one-minute telephone call by Javan to his brother on the tenth day of the detention, November 23.
Two Azerbaijani prisoners of conscience recently released from section 209 of Evin Prison said in a statement that Javan had informed them he will start a hunger strike on the December 13 to protest his illegal detention and the deprivation of his basic human rights as a prisoner.
Azerbaijani journalist and women’s rights defender Shanaz Gholami, who was detained on November 9, 2008 in Tabriz, has resorted to a hunger strike since November 20 to protest the length and degrading conditions of her detention. She is reportedly in poor health and needs medical attention. She is being held in the women’s section of the Tabriz prison. She has had no trial and is reportedly undergoing intense interrogation.
Gholami is the moderator of a blog for Azerbaijani-Iranian women, azarwomen. She was sentenced to six months imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the regime.” She was released on bail and is now waiting for a hearing by an appeal court. Last year, she was detained for a month for writing articles objecting to the use of force by the government during peaceful Azerbaijani-Iranian protests. Gholami was also in prison for five years in the late 1980s as a result of her political activities.
New Detentions
Seveal Azerbaijani activists were arrested on December 11, 2008 during the 21 Azer ceremonies, which mark the anniversary of the establishment of the autonomous government of Azerbaijan in 1945-1946. Navid Soltani, Said Mahmudi, Hojjat Mahmudi, Setare Ghasemi (ulduz), and Rahman Ghasemi were released on bail of 300 million rials ($30,000) on January 5, 2009.
These activists were arrested on December 10 and 11 at their homes in Urmiye, the second-largest Azerbaijani in Iran. Security forces searched their houses and took their personal computers, books, CDs and documents. All five activists were released on bail after three weeks in detention. They were held in Urmiye Intelligence Service custody, interrogated continuously, tortured and subjected to other ill-treatments. The detainees were not allowed access to a lawyer and their families were not permitted to visit them.
Azerbaijani ethnic rights activist Tohid Hasanpur was arrested on December 6, 2008 for publicizing the anniversary of the 21 Azer ceremonies in Urimye. He was been released on bail of 100 million rials ($10,000) on December 14. He was detained by the Urmiye Intelligence Service.
Vahid SheykhBaghlu, a graduate student in economics at Azad University in Tabriz and a former member of Arman Student Organization, was arrested on December 24, 2008 in Tabriz and was taken to Tabriz Intelligence Service heaquarters. He has been transferred to Tabriz Prison after 10 days in detention in Tabriz Intelligence Service custody. Since the day of detention he only been able to call his family once and there is no information about why he has been detained.
Vahid had been arrested before in Tabriz while participating in a ceremony celebrating the release of nine student activists after months of detention. He was released after hours of interrogation. He was also detained for 50 days in 2006 during the Azerbaijani-Iranian demonstrations of a cartoon in Iran (a state-run newspaper) which compared Azerbaijani-Iranians to cockroaches. He was released on bail and was sentenced to 91 days of suspended imprisonment.
Served Sentences
Asghar Akbarzade, an Azerbaijani student activist in Ardebil, has been sentenced to five years imprisonment and exiled to Zahdedan, a city in southeast of Iran far from Azerbaijani provinces. He is charged with participating in a “movement against state security” and Akbarzade says he was not given any opportunity to defend himself, even though there has been no investigation to confirm the claims of Iranian Intelligence Service. The judge asked only two questions during the trial, which was over in about 10 minutes.
The judge gave the sentence based on the following accusations: being part of an Azerbaijani national movement, participating in the funeral of Moham Ali Farzane a Pan-Turkist activist, participating in student meetings, participating in Azerbaijani dance classes, making a wolf symbol (the symbol of Turks) with his hand, sending incorrect news to foreign organizations, groups, media and websites, providing CDs and distributing separatist propaganda.
He was not allowed access to a lawyer and his trial was held in private.
Asghar Akbarzade, a chemistry student at Ardebil Payame Noor University, was arrested on June 20, 2008 by security forces in front of the university and released after 28 days on bail of 300 million rials ($30,000). During the detention his family was not informed of his place of detention or the reason for the detention. Akbarzade said he endured both physical and psychological torture while in detention. Several days later after his release he was charged with spreading propaganda for groups that are against the regime and sentenced to six months of suspended imprisonment which was postponed for two years. His verdict has been distributed on the Internet.
Akbarzade has been detained several times in the past for participating in demonstrations of Azerbaijanis against the offensive cartoon in 2006. He was charged with “moving against the regime,” “propaganda against the regime” and was fined. Amnesty International released two urgent actions about Asgharzade in 2006 and 2007 stating their concern for his health.
Ali Sadighi, Vahid Hamid Rezayiniya, and Albar Huseynzade, three Azerbaijani ethnic rights defenders were charged “propaganda activities against regime” and “moving against national security” for distributing a CD including invitations of people for the second anniversary of the cockroach cartoon targeting ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran newspaper in May 2006. They were sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. A CD found in their homes was used as evidence against them.
They were tried in private and without a lawyer in the Tabriz Revolutionary Court. They were also detained for two months on May 15, 2008 and released on bail.
Salman Iragi, a former president of the Azerbaijan Promotion Union at Khoy Payame Noor University and a member of the NGO Evrin, Salar Iragi a mechanical engineering student at Urmiye University, Hojjat Iragi, a mechanics student at Urmiye Technical Education Centre, Payam Elm Gholilu, a graduate student in management at Ghazvin Azad University and Ali Akbar Abdullahi, a mechanics student at Urmiye Technical Education Centre, all Azerbaijani student activists in Khoy, were arrested on May 15, 2008 by security forces and released after seven days on bail of 500 million rials ($50,000). They were charged with participating in activities against the regime and sentenced to one year of suspended imprisonment, all of which are postponed for two years.
Ebrahim Abdullahnejad, Ali Helmi, Ali Huseynnejad Asl, Mohsen Huseynzade, Saber Beytollahi and Bahman Nasirzade, all Azerbaijani activists based in Maku have been sentenced to 10 months to a year’s imprisonment related to demonstrations against the cockroach cartoon in 2006.
Abdullahnejad has been sentenced to one year in prison; Ali Helmi to one year suspended imprisonment. Asl and Husyinzade were each ordered to pay a 5 million rials ($5,000) cash fine and are charged with “propaganda against regime”.
Saber Beytollahi, and Bahman Nasirzade, a teacher and poet, respectively, were sentenced to a year’s imprisonment, but objected to the fact that they were unable to defend themselves before the verdict. Their trail was repeated on November 30, 2008. They are waiting for the verdict.
They were detained for 27 days on June 17, 2006 by security forces and were released on bail of 500 million rials ($50,000).
Situation of Other Azerbaijani Cultural Activists
Mohammad Reza Levayi, an Azerbaijani poet, writer and journalist, was arrested on November 21, 2008 by security forces in Khoja (a town near Ahar in East Azerbaijan) and transferred to Tabriz. He was released after 23 days of imprisonment on December 14. He suffers from heart problems and on the eleventh day of detention he was transferred to the hospital, where he received treatment for 12 days, and was then released. His family was not informed of his place of detention and the reason for the detention. According to Levayi, he was detained because of writing a paper about “Cultural Dictatorship and Culture of Dictatorship” and he will be called to court in the near future.
Rahim Hajizade, a cultural activist from Ardebil, was arrested on September 25, 2008. He was released after 61 days’ of detention on bail of 800 million rials ($80,000). Hajizade said he was charged with propaganda against regime for distributing the second volume of his book, Iliyatiha (a book about Azerbaijani folks).
Amir Ali Zebihi, an Azerbaijani student activist in Tabriz, has been taken to Tabriz Prison to serve his eight-month sentence. He is a civil engineering graduate from Azad University in Tabriz. He was detained for 45 days after the 2006 demonstrations against the cartoon assaulting Azerbaijanis and was released on bail.
Azerbaijani Student Journal Closed Down
The cultural council of Azad University in Mahabad decided to close down the Azerbaijani Turkish-Persian student journal Bulud in December 2008. The former director editor of the journal has graduated and the application of the new candidate for the director has not been accepted by the council. The council asked the candidate for director to fill in some forms at the Intelligence Service of Mahabad. The new director and writers at the journal refused, and the council decided to close down the journal.
Many Azerbaijani student journals have been closed down by the government over the last year. Some of them include: Ulus, Nasim, Araz, Ozluk, Oyanish, Sattar Khan, Kimlik, Yoldash, Yagish, Aydin Gelecel, Gunesh, Yarpaq, Telenger, Yashil, Yol, Anayurdu, Achiq Soz and Sayan.