ADAP: Several Azerbaijani Civil Activists Remain in Evin Prison After 110 Days of Uncertainty

The Azerbaijani Political Prisoners Defense Association (ADAP) reported on Saturday, May 25, that several Azerbaijani civil activists have been in temporary detention in Ward 4 and the women's section of Evin Prison for 110 days without resolution. Meanwhile, according to ADAP, 'dozens of Azerbaijani political and cultural activists inside and outside Iran have called for the Iranian government to respect the basic rights of political prisoners and hold public trials for the detainees by recording videos and sharing them on their Instagram pages.' The political prisoners include Taher Naqvi (a lawyer in Karaj), Abdulaziz Azimi Qadim (a defrocked cleric), Baqer Hajizadeh Mazraeh, Karam Mardaneh Mostali Beigloo, Suleiman (Aydin) Mohammadi, Fatemeh Atashi Khiyavi, Morteza Parvin Jeda, Ayaz Saifkhah, Araz Aman, Abdollah Vahedi, Kamal Noori, Saeed Jamalzadeh, Hossein Piriy Qoshachay, and Jafar Mohammadi, who were arrested on February 5 of last year in the cities of Bonab, Rasht, Islamshahr, Astara, and Karaj. After 15 days, they were transferred from Ward 209 of Evin Prison to Ward 4, where they have remained in uncertainty. ADAP added that previously, Vadood Asadi, Salar Taher Afshar, Saeed Minaei, Hassan Ebrahimi Shiran, Saeed Doostan, Ebrahim Avazadeh, Karamat Rouhnavaz, Habib Negahban, Suleiman (Aydin) Mohammadi, Abdollah Vahedi, and Jafar Mohammadi, who were also arrested in this case, have been temporarily released on bail. According to the report, the 15th branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Salavati, has charged these 22 individuals with conspiracy to disrupt internal and external security, and in some cases, espionage charges have also been leveled against them. Typically, the security and judicial apparatus of the Islamic Republic issues such charges against civil and political activists and opponents of the regime. ADAP reported that the trials of these imprisoned activists were held on May 21 and June 1, and most defendants did not have the right to an attorney. Additionally, see: Rabab Gholizadeh, the wife of imprisoned Azerbaijani activist Syed Mohammadi, was summoned to the Intelligence Office in Karaj. The Azerbaijani Political Prisoners Defense Association in Iran stated that among the detainees, Taher Naqvi, a lawyer, was arrested after defending his client, Farid Safarli, a citizen of Azerbaijan, who had come to Iran to see his girlfriend. According to the report, 'the security apparatus of the Islamic Republic had arrested him to use him for a prisoner exchange with an Iranian prisoner in Azerbaijan, but after Taher Naqvi accepted the defense of this Azerbaijani student, he managed to convince the judge to release Farid Safarli with a light sentence. This caused the Ministry of Intelligence to become angry with Taher Naqvi, leading to his arrest and the imposition of security charges against this lawyer who was performing his duties.' ADAP added that the evidence cited by the investigating judge and the Ministry of Intelligence for these charges generally consists of photos from ten years ago of these defendants with Habib Sasaniyan, an Azerbaijani refugee in Baku, taken during the welcome of Azerbaijani activists after his release from Ardabil Prison in front of the prison and his personal residence. Habib Sasaniyan, who is under political asylum in Azerbaijan, told ADAP regarding these charges that he does not know many of these detainees. He added, 'I have sought asylum in Azerbaijan after being released on a one-billion-toman bail. Apparently, inside Iran, to prevent the execution of my bail, some activists, without my knowledge, started a campaign to help the bailers, which the Ministry of Intelligence accused the benefactors and those involved in this charitable act of collusion with me, while I have had no contact with them at all.' Mr. Sasaniyan also said, 'The Ministry of Intelligence has charged my family members and relatives, who called me to check on me, with political collusion to pressure me, and since they cannot reach me, they intend to pressure me by arbitrarily arresting my relatives to force me to return to Iran.' According to ADAP, several of the defendants in this case saw each other face-to-face for the first time during their arrest and had not previously contacted each other. Relatives of the detainees told ADAP that there is no credible evidence in their case indicating any material or even spiritual element of conspiracy or espionage, and the Ministry of Intelligence is merely trying to imprison these activists with fabricated charges through illegal mass actions, backed by their affiliated judges. ADAP pointed out that the detainees are generally activists in political, cultural, and social fields who had personal activities within the framework of the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.