Yesterday, October 21, due to acute pain in his knees and backbone, Azerbaijani Turk activist Abbas Lessani was dispatched to a medical clinic outside Ardabil Prison.
According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, Lessani was dispatched to a clinic for an MRI test due to acute pain in knees and backbone. This is the third time that he has been dispatched outside of the prison for treatment.
Lessani has been held in Ardabil Prison since January 2019. In two separate cases, he has been sentenced to ten years and ten months combined.
On May 25, 2021, he was sent off to the hospital for the treatment of painful backbone and knees.
On June 24, 2021, due to a number of medical problems including high blood pressure, he was sent off shortly to a medical clinic in Ardabil for a medical test. After echocardiography, he was diagnosed with stenosis (a widening of the opening of a heart valve). Therefore he requires further treatment outside of the prison.
On January 15, 2019, Abbas Lessani was summoned by Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz and, following his appearance at the court, he was arrested and transferred to Ardabil Prison.
Thereafter, the Ardabil Revolutionary Court sentenced him to eight years imprisonment and 2 years exile in Yazd City on a charge of “forming a group with the purpose to disrupt national security”.
This verdict was increased to 15 years imprisonment and two years exile on appeal. In July 2020, his appeal against the conviction to the supreme court of Iran was dismissed. Under Article 134, a maximum sentence of 10 years is enforceable. In addition, earlier Branch 1 of the court of appeal in Ardabil had dismissed the request of applying ” Punishment Reduction Law”.
In May 2019, in another case, Branch 26 of the Court of appeal in Eastern Azerbaijan sentenced Lessani to ten months in prison on a charge of “propaganda against the regime and in favour of opposition political groups”.
Abbas Lessani has faced other arrests and convictions due to his civil activities. In the last instance, on July 2, 2018, together with three residents of Ardabil, he was arrested by the county intelligence agents, several days before holding an annual gathering in Babak Fort (a gathering to celebrate the Babak Khorramdin’s birthday).
He was reportedly arrested for publishing a video in which he had encouraged people to attend the gathering. After spending nine days in detention, Lessani was released on bail.