Azeri-Iranians Under Pressure
13 February 2009
Human rights monitors say members of Iran's Azeri ethnic community are under
increasing pressure from Iranian authorities.
Amnesty International reports that more than 30 Sunni Azeris were arrested on
January 14th in the village of Khanegah-e Sork near Oroumiye in west Azerbaijan
province. They were protesting the diversion of their water supply when police
forcibly dispersed them.
Some demonstrators were reportedly injured during arrest; others were reportedly
tortured or mistreated during detention. At least 21 of those arrested were
tried February 1 before a court in Nazlu. Those convicted received sentences
that included up to a year in prison, fines, flogging, and enforced residency in
south-eastern Iran, far from their homes.
On February 2, 5 ethnic Azeri activists were sentenced to 5 years imprisonment
in Ardebil for supporting Azeri-language schools in Iran. On February 4, 5 Azeri
students were sentenced to one-year prison terms for running a blog that
advocates language rights for Iranian Azeris. And Abdullah Abbasi Javan, a
professor at Tehran's Shahid Raja'I University, remains in detention.
Arrested on November 13 following the annual celebration of Sattar Khan, a
leading figure in the 1906 Constitutional Revolution in Iran, Mr. Javan has been
denied access to a lawyer or family members. According to Amnesty International,
Mr. Javan spent 130 days in detention in 2007, on charges of so-called
"pan-Turkism" and "propaganda against the system." He was reportedly tortured
during his incarceration.
Fakhteh Zamani, Director of the Canada-based Association for the Defense of
Azerbaijani Political Prisoners, says Iran has stepped up its repression:
"The situation has been [was] bad in 2008, but since the start of 2009 pressure
on minorities is increasing. For Azerbaijanis, since the start of 2009, we have
had the harshest prison sentences in several years."
Ms. Zamani says Iran's Azeri community is asking for the rights guaranteed by
Iran's constitution to all Iranians:
"They are asking for their basic human rights, one of them being language
rights. Also there are many discriminatory policies – economic, cultural,
linguistic, and religious."
The United States, together with its international partners, urges the
government of Iran to respect the fundamental rights of all Iranian citizens.
http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2009-02-13-voa5.cfm
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