An appeals court sentenced Yousef Kari to two years in prison

On February 16, 2020, appeals court presided by Judge Yousef Khodadadi reduced Yousef Kari’s sentence to two years imprisonment.

Mr. Kari, an Azerbaijani Turkic ethnic minority rights activist, was sentenced to a six-year prison term by Branch 1 of Ardabil’s Revolutionary Court. In December 2019, Mr. Kari was sentenced to one-year imprisonment for the charge of “propaganda against the state” and five years of imprisonment for the charge of “membership in the civil-ethnic group by attending their meetings with the intent of acting against the national security”.

On September 3, 2019, Mr. Kari was arrested in Shariati Square in Ardabil by the security forces. Although his bail was set at 50 million Tomans, his bail was not accepted by the authorities and his family was told that Mr. Kari’s bail had been increased to 200 million Tomans.

First arrest

On August 10, 2018, he was arrested along with others, after the security forces attacked Azerbaijani Turkic minority activists camp in Mount Sabalan. These activists reportedly planned to climb Mount Sabalan. They were arrested while reading poetry in their camp. Mr. Kari was released after few hours.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *