HRANA – Abbas Lesani (Lisani) and Yousef Kari, two Azerbaijani-Turk activists, remain in detention at Evin Prison. For two days, the two have been on a hunger strike in protest against prison authorities’ decision to transfer them to separate wards without observing the principle of separating prisoners based on the nature of their alleged offenses.
According to HRANA News Agency, Abbas Lesani and Yousef Kari remain in detention. Lesani and Kari informed their families and relatives that they began a hunger strike on Sunday, June 28, in protest against prison officials’ decision to transfer them to separate wards without complying with prison classification regulations and the principle of separating inmates according to the nature of their alleged offenses.
When prison authorities attempted to transfer them to separate wards in Ward 7, the two men stated that they would begin a hunger strike if prison regulations and the principle of separating prisoners based on the nature of their alleged offenses were not respected.
The trial of Abbas Lesani, Ali Kheirjoo, Yousef Kari, and Behzad Dashti, all Azerbaijani-Turk activists, was held on May 30 before Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court. The defendants refused to attend the hearing.
In January 2026, Abbas Lesani was formally charged in Branch 6 of the Evin Prosecutor’s Office, presided over by Vahid Naseri, with offenses including “forming an illegal group, assembly and collusion against national security, and disrupting public order.” Yousef Kari, along with two other individuals, was charged with “membership in an illegal group, assembly and collusion against national security, and disrupting public order.”
Despite more than seven months having passed since their arrests, Abbas Lesani and Yousef Kari continue to be held in the quarantine section of Ward 7 of Evin Prison.
The two activists were arrested on November 11, 2025, outside Evin Prison while expressing support for the sit-in protest by the families of political prisoners Taher Naghavi and Vadood Asadi, who are imprisoned there. On November 18, 2025, Abbas Lesani and Yousef Kari, along with two other individuals, were transferred to The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility, known as Ward 209 of Evin Prison.
Abbas Lesani and Yousef Kari, both Azerbaijani-Turk activists, have previously been arrested and subjected to judicial prosecution due to their civil activism.
