Tag: Morteza Nourmohammadi

Interrogation Sessions Held for 12 Azerbaijani-Turk Activists at Tabriz Prosecutor’s Office

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Freedom of Expression, News
Ali Babaei, Amirhossein Aghaei, Araz Ebrahim-Nejad, Azerbaijani Turk activists, Davoud Shiri, Ebrahim Avaz-Zadeh, Hamed Yeganehpour, Hossein Azadi, Javad Soodbar, Mehrdad Ghaderi, Mohammadreza Movahed, Morteza Nourmohammadi, Tabriz, Yoroush Mehrali Beiglou

HRANA News Agency – Interrogation sessions for 12 Azerbaijani-Turk activists, were held at Branch 15 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Tabriz.

According to HRANA, the interrogation sessions, related to a joint case involving the 12 individuals, took place separately from January 11 to January 22, 2025. These activists are: Yoroush Mehrali Beiglou, Araz Ebrahim Nejad, Davoud Shiri, Mehrdad Ghaderi, Hamed Yeganehpour, Mohammadreza Movahed, Amirhossein Aghaei, Ali Babaei, Javad Soodbar, Morteza Nourmohammadi, Hossein Azadi, and Ebrahim Ava-Zadeh

During these sessions, the defendants defended themselves against charges of “membership in an illegal group with the intent to oppose the regime” and “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security.” Additionally, Yoroush Mehrali Beiglou faced the separate charge of “forming a group with the intent to oppose the regime.”

Although Naser Razmjoo, one of the accused in the case, was named and notified of his case registration at Branch 15, he has not yet been summoned. The other activists had been summoned through individual notices prior to the sessions.

Background on the Activists

  • Yoroush Mehrali Beiglou was arrested in November 2023 in Jolfa and transferred to The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in Tabriz. In February 2024, he was transferred to Tabriz Prison and later released on bail. He has a history of prior arrests and convictions related to his activism.
  • Mohammadreza Movahed, Araz Ebrahim Nejad, and Davoud Shiri were arrested in September 2023 and transferred to Tabriz Prison. They were released on bail in December 2023. Both Shiri and Movahed have previously faced judicial actions due to their activism.
  • Mehrdad Ghaderi was arrested in September 2023 by security forces in Tabriz and released on bail in November 2023.
  • Morteza Nourmohammadi Nadarli (Nazarlo) was arrested in September 2023 and transferred to The Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in Tabriz. He was later moved to Tabriz Prison but then returned to the same detention facility. In early November 2023, he was charged with “assembly and collusion to act against national security” in Shabestar Prosecutor’s Office and later faced new charges of “membership in a group to act against national security.” He was released on bail in November 2023.
  • Hamed Yeganehpour, a resident of Maragheh, was arrested in November 2023 by security forces in Tabriz and released from detention in November 28, 2023.
  • Amir-Hossein Aghaei was arrested in September 2023 in Baghmisheh, Tabriz, and released on bail in December 2023.
  • Ali Babaei and Javad Soodbar were arrested in September 2023 in Tabriz and released on bail in December 2023.
  • Hossein Azadi was arrested in September 2023 in Baghmisheh, Tabriz, and released on bail in November 2023.
  • Ebrahim Avaz-Zadeh was arrested in October 2023 in Tehran and released on bail in late-November 2023.
  • Naser Razmjoo was arrested in October 2023 in Tabriz and released on bail in late-November 2023.

This case highlights the ongoing judicial and security pressures faced by Azerbaijani-Turk activists in Iran.

Azerbaijani-Turk Activist Morteza Nourmohammadi Sentenced to Prison

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Ethnic Minorities, News
Azerbaijani Turk activist, Morteza Nourmohammadi, Shabestar, Tabriz

Morteza Nourmohammadi Nadarli (also known as Nazarlu), an Azerbaijani-Turk activist, was sentenced to three months and one day in prison by the Revolutionary Court of Shabestar County.

Based on a recent verdict issued by the Revolutionary Court of Shabestar County and communicated to Nourmohammadi, he has been sentenced to three months and one day of imprisonment on charges of propaganda against the regime through publishing material online. This Azerbaijani-Turk activist was acquitted of other charges such as “membership in anti-regime groups” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.”

On May 28, Mr. Nourmohammadi was summoned for questioning via a phone call to the Shabestar Security Police.

Nourmohammadi was initially charged in early November last year by the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Shabestar with “assembly and collusion to act against national security.” Shortly thereafter, a new case was opened against him in the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Tabriz, charging him with “membership in a group aimed at acting against national security.”

On September 9, 2023, after visiting the Civil Registration Office in the city of Sofian, he was arrested by security forces and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility in Tabriz. He was eventually moved to the city’s prison and then returned to the detention center a few days later. He was once again transferred to Tabriz prison on November 26, 2023.

Nourmohammadi was finally released on bail on November 28 of the same year.

In 2023, the Department of Statistics and Publications of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) recorded 329 reports, citing the arrest of 324 citizens linked to ethnic and national rights. Notably, 156 of these arrests occurred without the issuance of a judicial warrant.

Morteza Nourmohammadi Arrested in Shabestar

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Freedom of Expression, News
HRANA, Morteza Nourmohammadi, Shabestar

On September 9, Morteza Nourmohammadi, a resident of Shabestar in East Azerbaijan province, was apprehended by security forces and transported to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention facility.

A source with close ties to his family informed HRANA that Nourmohammadi was detained on September 9, immediately following a visit to the National Organization for Civil Registration of Iran. Subsequent to his arrest, intelligence agents conducted a search of his residence and confiscated some of his personal belongings.

Previously, the National Organization for Civil Registration had declined to register a chosen name for his newborn child. It’s worth noting that the Iranian government restricts naming children in ways that deviate from the national cultural and religious norms.

The precise grounds for his detention, his current whereabouts, and the nature of the allegations against him remain undisclosed.