Azerbaijani-Turk Activist Hamid Abbasi Sentenced to Over 4 Years in Prison

HRANA News Agency – Hamid Abbasi, an Azerbaijani-Turk activist, has been sentenced to four years, six months, and one day in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Salmas.

The sentence was issued by Abdolaziz Allah Gholipoor Azar, a judge at the Salmas Revolutionary Court. According to the ruling, Abbasi was sentenced to:

7 months and 16 days for propaganda against the regime,
31 months and 16 days for insulting the Supreme Leader, and
15 months and 1 day for alleged membership in opposition groups.

Following the first hearing on his charges, Mr. Abbasi was released on bail of 700 million tomans. He had previously been arrested by security forces on October 30, 2024, and transferred to The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in Salmas.

According to information received by HRANA, Abbasi was subjected to pressure to extract forced confessions while in detention at the Ministry of Intelligence in Salmas.

A source close to his family confirmed the news to HRANA and added:
“Hamid Abbasi is also facing charges in a separate case at Branch 102 of the Second Criminal Court of Salmas. In that case, he has been sentenced to:

a fine of 50 million tomans for possession of an unlicensed hunting weapon,
21 months and 1 day for spreading false information, and
42 months for unauthorized excavation in search of antiquities.”

In 2024, HRA documented the arrests of 262 individuals from ethnic minority groups or those advocating for ethnic minority rights, including Azerbaijani-Turk activists.