HRANA – Today, October 27, 2026, Naser Razmjou, an Azerbaijani-Turk activist, was arrested by security forces in Ardabil and transferred to an undisclosed location.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Naser Razmjou has been arrested.

Based on information received by HRANA, Razmjou was arrested this morning at his residence in Ardabil. Following his arrest, he was transferred to an undisclosed location.

Previously, on Saturday, May 16, 2026, Razmjou, along with 12 other citizens in a joint case, was sentenced by the East Azerbaijan Province Court of Appeals to two years and nine months in prison on suspicion of membership in an illegal group and an additional three years and seven months on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security.”

Earlier, in late December 2025, these individuals had been sentenced to a combined total of 85 years and nine months in prison by Branch 2 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court in the initial proceedings.

Razmjou had also previously been arrested by security forces on October 21, 2023. He was subsequently released from Tabriz Prison on November 30 of that year after posting bail of 500 million tomans.

At the time of this report, no information has been obtained regarding the reasons for the Azerbaijani-Turk activist’s latest arrest or his place of detention.

According to HRA’s annual statistics, 302 individuals were arrested in 2025 on the basis of their ethnicity or national minority status. Arrests of ethnic minority citizens increased by 15.2% compared to the previous year. At least 186 of these arrests were carried out without a judicial warrant. Although the specific charges and reasons for arrest remain unclear in many cases, based on the past practices of security agencies, it is believed that these individuals may have been arrested for their activities advocating ethnic rights.