Crackdown on Azerbaijani Activists Veers to Violence

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – In their continued persecution of Azerbaijani activists, security forces attempting to extract confessions have reportedly battered two of them severely, landing one in the hospital with broken ribs and injured fingers.
Without explanation, agents arrested Nasim Sadeghi and Hakimeh Ahmadi within three days of each other in late October 2018, and sources close to both women report that they have since been subjected to beatings. In a video he published October 30th, Ahmadi’s husband Gholamreza Ghorbani related the news of her injuries and hospital transfer, explaining that authorities had refused to disclose where she had been admitted, forbade him from visiting, and advised him that pending treatments would be at his expense. Sadeghi, who was transferred from an IRGC intelligence detention center to Tabriz Central Prison on October 29th, confirmed on a phone call with her family that authorities were applying brute-force coercion to make her own up to their allegations, threatening to arrest her children and her sister’s children if she didn’t confess.
Security forces arrested Ahmadi on October 18th after inspecting her home and threatening her and Ghorbani with a close-combat weapon; Sadeghi was taken by security forces on her walk home October 21st.
Though Sadeghi and Ahmadi were not told the reasons behind their arrests, an assistant in Branch 19 of the revolutionary and general prosecutor’s office recently explained Sadeghi her charges: “propaganda against the regime through anti-regime news activity in cyberspace.” Initially offered bail during an October 25th court appearance, Sadeghi was kept in custody when security forces objected to her release.
Sadeghi was finally released Wednesday, October 31st on a bail of 150 million tomans [approximately $3,500 USD]. As of the date of this report, Ahmadi’s location and charges are still unknown.
Both Ahmadi and Sadeghi have previous arrests on their records. Ahmadi was detained this past September and released on a bail of one billion Rials [approximately $7,000 USD]. On July 28, 2016, Sadeghi was among dozens arrested for their participation in a public protest against controversial comments published in the newspaper Tarh-e No. She was interrogated for five days in the Intelligence Detention Center of Tabriz for charges of “acting against national security through propaganda against the regime,” brought by Branch 7 of the Prosecutor’s Interrogation Office of Tabriz Revolutionary Court. She was released on a bail of 1 billion IRR [approximately $8000 USD] pending trial.
Azerbaijani activists have felt the pressure of intensified security controls in recent months. Rahman Ghasemi and Abolfazl Fakouri, recently arrested in Tabriz for unknown reasons and transferred to undisclosed locations, are two more among many who have been unceremoniously swept up.
Ghasemi, an Urmia resident, was summoned and interrogated by Urmia security forces this past September. On July 7th, he was arrested amid security crackdowns on an Azerbaijani cultural gathering at Babak Fort and released four days later.
Per a recent announcement, the appeals hearing of Azerbaijani activist Kiumars Eslami, also arrested and charged for his presence at Babak Fort, will take place November 17th at 10 a.m. in Branch 1 of Ardebil Appeals Court. Eslami’s cultural activism — including his membership in the Parsabad county Pan-Turkic movement and translation of Persian-language books into Azerbaijani — have earned him accusations from authorities of being “sectarian” and propagandizing against the regime.
Tabriz is the capital of the northwestern province of Eastern Azerbaijan, which borders the Republic of Azerbaijan and is home to Iran’s Azerbaijani ethnic minority. Fort Babak, a monument built during the pre-Islamic Sasanian period, is the namesake of Babak Khorramdin, who led an uprising against the Abbasid caliphate in 893. In recent years, it has become a place of symbolic gathering for Azerbaijani activists, especially during annual commemorations held in the first week of July.

Appeals Court Upholds Conviction of Azerbaijani Activist

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – The three-year prison sentence of Azerbaijani activist Hossein Ali Mohammadi Alvar has been upheld by Judge Bahloul Alizadeh of East Azerbaijan Province Appeals Court Branch 3. Mohammadi Alvar is a resident of Tabriz in northwestern Iran, home to the country’s Azerbaijani ethnic minority.
An informed source confirmed news of the appeals decision to HRANA and elaborated on Mohammadi Alvar’s charges: two years in prison for insulting the Supreme Leader, and one year in prison for propaganda against the regime.
The appeals verdict confirmed the initial sentence issued to Mohammadi Alvar in Branch 2 of Tabriz Revolutionary Court. The same appeals court upheld the same sentence on the same charges four years ago, in connection to a different case file initially tried in Tabriz Revolutionary Court Branch 3. Pursuant to the 2014 ruling, security agents apprehended Mohammadi Alvar March 1, 2015, transferring him to Tabriz Central Prison to begin serving his sentence.
Authorities began developing a rap sheet on Mohammadi Alvar on September 12, 2013, when he and Farzad Mahdavi were arrested by security agents at a match of the Tabriz-based soccer club “Tractor Sazi.” Both Mohammadi Alvar and Mahdavi spent a day in detention before posting bail and going free.
Two months later, on November 4th, 2013, Tabriz security agents would arrest Mohammadi Alvar a second time, along with his fellow Azerbaijani activist Taha Kermani. Mohammadi Alvar and Kermani spent nearly 6 months in Tabriz Central prison before being released on bail. The corollary 10-year prison sentence issued to Mohammadi Alvar and Kermani in Revolutionary Court Branch 3 was later reduced to 2 years in appeals court.
In July 2015, Amnesty International issued a statement expressing concern that Mohammadi Alvar and Kermani’s 10-year sentence was “unjustified” and “politically motivated.” Amnesty said the men were convicted on the basis of confessions extracted under torture, which constituted a violation of human rights. They urged authorities to order an impartial investigation of the men’s torture allegations, and that if the latter is proven true, to bring those responsible to justice.

Three Death Sentences Carried Out in Tabriz

HRANA News Agency – Three prisoners were executed on charge of “murder” in Tabriz Central Prison on 26 November 2017.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), On Sunday, 26 November 2017, three prisoners were executed on charge of “murder” in the central prison of Tabriz. Continue reading “Three Death Sentences Carried Out in Tabriz”

Three Prisoners Executed in Tabriz Central Prison

HRANA News Agency – Three prisoners were executed on charge of “murder” in Tabriz Central Prison on 22 November 2017.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), On Wednesday, 22 November 2017, three prisoners were executed on charge of “murder” in the central prison of Tabriz. Continue reading “Three Prisoners Executed in Tabriz Central Prison”

A Prisoner Executed in Tabriz Central Prison

HRANA News Agency – Ahad Portaghi who had been held in the Tabriz Central prison on charge of murder since five years ago, was executed on September 21, 2017 in this prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), a close person to Ahad Portaghi confirmed the execution of the prisoner. Continue reading “A Prisoner Executed in Tabriz Central Prison”

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Two Prisoners Executed in Tabriz Prison

HRANA News Agency – With authentication of the identity of another prisoner who was executed in Tabriz Central Prison, the number of executions in this prison in one day rose to two. Both prisoners had been charged with murder and had been sentenced to death.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Vaheed Fathullah Astani and another prisoner with the surname of “Ali Akbar” were executed in the central prison of Tabriz, on Tuesday April 18, 2017. Continue reading “Two Prisoners Executed in Tabriz Prison”

Poor Food Program in Tabriz Central Prison

HRANA News Agency – Since more than a month and a half ago, the diet which “includes cheese for breakfast, only rice for lunch, soup for dinner” has been served in Tabriz prison. This meal plan has been served under the pretext of repairing the kitchen by officials of the prison while most inmates could not afford to buy food from the prison shop and were malnourished. On the other hand, according to the families of the prisoners, the prisoners were prevented from being sent to the clinic with intestinal problems.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), since more than a month and a half ago, the diet which “includes cheese for breakfast, only rice for lunch, soup for dinner” has been served in Tabriz prison. Continue reading “Poor Food Program in Tabriz Central Prison”

At Least 2 Prisoners Executed in Arak

On December 25, at least two prisoners were hanged in Arak. Also on December 27, in Tabriz a prisoner who was transferred for execution, was returned to the ward after his sentence was postponed.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), on December 25, at least two prisoners were hanged in Arak. Continue reading “At Least 2 Prisoners Executed in Arak”