Monthly report of Azssociation for the defence of South Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran
October 2008
Final four Azerbaijani Activists Arrested During Iftar Dinner Released on Bail
The final four of the 19 Azerbaijani activists detained in Tehran during at iftar dinner, the first meal after the Ramadan fast, have been released on bail of $250,000. They were held by Iranian authorities for 57 days without being charged and with no access to a lawyer. The four – Elirza Serrafi (Alireza Sarrafi), Hesen Rashidi (Hasan Rashedi), Seid Mughanli (Said Muganli) and Mehdi Neimi (Naimi) – were at risk of torture all ill treatment during this time.
Families of the detained activists were allowed to see them after 33 days in detention. Family members reported that the detainees had been tortured and were in poor health due to the harsh conditions in section 209 of Evin Prison, which is run by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence.
Iranian security guards detained the 19 Azerbaijani journalists, writers, poets, teachers and cultural activists on September 10 2008. Ruqeyye Lisani, the wife of prominent Azerbaijani activist and prisoner of conscience Abbas Lisani, and their three children were among those arrested.
Some of the detained – including Ruqeyye Lisani and her children, Ekrem Nejjari, Rubab Ezimi and Ferhad Rizayi – were released nine hours after the arrest. On September 14, Yusuf Hushyar, Shahbaz Ibrahimzade and Mehemmed Abbaspur were also released. In early October, five more detainees – Ekber Azad, Seyyad Mehemmedian, Abbas Neimi, Huseyin Heyderi and Hesen Rehimi – were released on bail from section 209 of Evin prison, but still the four activists were held there. All released activists say they were deprived of their constitutional rights, and also were held in cells in section 209 of Evin prison under physical and psychological duress.
Students Released After Almost Five Months in Detention
Seven detained students from Tebriz University and one from Esfahan University were released on bail from Tebriz prison on October 28, 2008 after almost five months of detention.
Sejjad Radmehr, Aydin Khajeyi and Ferzad Zehtab, arrested July 17 and held in Tebriz prison with Emir Merdani (arrested August 13), Mejid Makuyi (arrested August 31) and Ehsan Nejefi arrested (September 30), have all been released on bail of about $50,000. Two other students from Tebriz University, Mensur Eminian, and Meqsud Ehdi arrested August 20, were also released on bail of approximately $20,000.
Iranian police searched the students’ houses following their detention and confiscated their computers, CDs, documents and books. All these students except Najefi were detained and interrogated in units of Intelligence Service (Ettelaat) in Tebriz for three months. They were detained without being tried, were not allowed access to lawyers and their families were not allowed to visit them.
Family members claim that “they were tortured during the detention in units of Intelligence Services in Tebriz and the authorities subjected them to 24-hour interrogations, sleeplessness, torture and abuses.” The students are charged with ”establishing and membership in illegal groups in order to disrupt national security“ and also “propaganda against the regime,”
The release of Daryush Hatemi, who is doing his compulsory military service and is a friend of the other detained students, has been postponed since his family have not yet been able to provide the bail. He was also detained on July 17.
Semed Mollagoli, a student of Shebister Azad Universty, detained October 6, has been released on bail of $100,000. He is charged with “connection via the Internet with groups which are active abroad.”
Prisoners of Conscience Continue Hunger Strike After Five Years’ Imprisonment
Sehendeli Mehemmedi, Bakhsali Mehemmedi, Abdullah Qasimzade, Mehdi Qasimzade, and Yunus Aghayan are five Ehli-Haq faith prisoners who have been imprisoned for more than five years. They resorted to a hunger strike on September 15, 2008, which they saw as their only way to protest the miscarriage of justice during their trial, the abusive behavior of the prison guards, and insults to their religious beliefs. They were placed in solitary confinement in retaliation, but their hunger strike continues. Their health is deteriorating due to dyspeptic problems caused by their previous hunger strike and the unhealthy condition of the cells they are held in. Some of them have been vomiting blood and are in a semi-conscious state of mind.
Detention of Abbas Lisani, an Azerbaijani Cultural Activist and a Prisoner of Conscience
Abbas Lisani, a prominent Azerbaijani cultural activist, was released on October 29, 2008 after finishing his 30-month sentence in Yazd prison.
After finishing an initial 18-month sentence in Erdebil prison for participating in the May 2006 Azerbaijanis Protests against an offensive cartoon, Lisani was sentenced to an additional 12 months of detention for the charge of “propaganda against the regime.” On February 27, 2008, he was transferred to Yazd prison.
Lisani resorted to hunger strikes several times during his detention, which he saw as the only way to defend himself against the harsh treatment of security forces and guards in prison. He was deprived of the right of leave-days, which prisoners in Iran are normally permitted.
Lisani was taken to the Yazd Intelligence Service office on October 7, 2008 and was subjected to 10 hours of interrogation. During the interrogation, security forces from Erdebil were also present. They questioned his plans after being released and getting back to Erdebil, his hometown.
Days before Lisani’s release, the General Attorney and Intelligence Service in Erdebil told his family to accept Lisani’s forced and illegal exile to a Persian-speaking city. Their threat also including a warning that Lisani will be arrested again if he takes part in any event or movement in any Azerbaijani city.
Ruqeyye Lisani, Abbas Lisani’s wife, and their three children were among the 19 arrested on September 10 during an iftar dinner in Tehran.
Three Azerbaijani Activists Detained for Celebrating “Mother Language Day”
Azerbaijani ethnic rights activists Husheng Naghizade, Arif Ulufi and Vahid Bahaduri are being held in poor conditions in Urmiyeh prison. They are held in a section of the prison allocated to addicts, murderers and other criminals. They are in poor health and are not allowed to meet their families on a regular basis. These activists were detained because of celebrating the International Mother Langauge Day in Urmiye on February 2008.
The detention of Rehim Hajizad, another Azerbaijani ethnic rights activist, continues. He was arrested on September 25, 2008 by security forces in Erdebil, and was subsequently taken to section 7 of Erdebil prison after three days’ detention in an Intelligence Service office. He is charged with “propaganda against the regime” and also “propaganda for ethnic rights.”
Azerbaijani prisoners of conscience are reportedly subject to different kinds of maltreatment in Erdebil prison by prison authorities and other security forces. They are also held in very poor conditions.
Ibrahim Reshidi, an Azerbaijani poet, writer and human rights activist who was detained for five months in Urmu prison, has just been released. He was
suffering from different kinds of maltreatments deployed by prison authorities and other security forces.
He was not permitted to access any books or newspapers. He was threatened with solitary confinement for discussing the problem of Azerbaijan with other prisoners.
Ebdulhojjet Tariverian, an Azerbaijani ethnic rights activist, has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and 40 lashes for “disrupting public peace by participating in an illegal meeting.” The judge suspended the sentence for two years for not having precedence. Tariverian was arrested on May 21, 2008 on the second anniversary of the May 2006 protests in Tebriz. He was detained for more than two weeks but was released on bail.
