Tag: Ebrahim Asemani

Azerbaijani-Turk Activist Ebrahim Asemani Sentenced to Prison and Flogging

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Ethnic Minorities, Freedom of Expression, News
Azerbaijani Turk, Ebrahim Asemani, Tabriz, Zohreh Sa’adati Vafaie

HRANA News Agency – Azerbaijani-Turk activist Ebrahim Asemani has been sentenced to three months in prison and 30 lashes by Branch 118 of the Tabriz Criminal Court.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Asemani was convicted on charges of “disrupting public order through unconventional attire and creating commotion during the funeral of Zohreh Sa’adati Vafaie.” The verdict, issued on February 15, 2025, sentenced him to three months and one day of imprisonment and 30 lashes.

This verdict was issued in absentia and can be appealed within 20 days of notification, with an additional 20-day window for appeal in the Court of Appeals.

Asemani was arrested on September 23, 2024, during the funeral of Sa’adati Vafaie at a Cemetery in Tabriz for wearing traditional clothing featuring specific inscriptions. He was released on bail after eight days.

Asmani, aged approximately 60, is a married Azerbaijani-Turk activist from Tabriz. He has previously faced summonses, arrests, and judicial sentences due to his activism.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) strictly prohibits inhumane and degrading punishments such as flogging and amputation. However, in 2024, HRANA documented at least three cases where flogging sentences were carried out, totaling 106 lashes. Additionally, at least 131 individuals were sentenced to a combined 9,957 lashes by the Iranian judiciary.

Furthermore, four individuals had their hand amputation sentences executed, while four others were sentenced to amputation.
For detailed statistics and further insights, read HRANA’s 2024 Annual Report.

Arrests of Azerbaijani-Turk Activists in Jolfa Raise Concerns

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Ethnic Minorities, News
Ebrahim Asemani, Habib Negahban, Hamed Yeganeh Pour, HRANA, Mohsen Ganji, Mokhtar Ebrahimi, Seyed Mohammad-Reza Movahed, Siamak Kooshi, Younes Zareioun, Yourush Mehrali Baygloo, Yourush Mehrali Baygloo. Karim Esmaeilzadeh

On January 12, 2024, a group of Azerbaijani-Turk activists en route to Jolfa to visit the family of imprisoned Yourush Mehrali Baygloo were arrested. The detainees include Karim Esmaeilzadeh, Ebrahim Asemani, Seyed Mohammad-Reza Movahed, Younes Zareioun, Siamak Kooshi, Habib Negahban, Mohsen Ganji, Mokhtar Ebrahimi, and Hamed Yeganeh Pour, as reported by a source close to one of the detainee’s families.

The motive behind these arrests and the current location of the detainees remain unknown.

Notably, Esmaeilzadeh, Asemani, Zareioun, Kooshi, Negahban, Ebrahimi, and Yeganeh Pour have previously experienced arrests and legal challenges due to their activism.

On November 7, 2023, Azerbaijani-Turk activist Yourush Mehrali Baygloo was apprehended by security forces in Jolfa County and subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in Tabriz. The situation is developing, and concerns over the well-being of the activists persist.