Exclusive; Political Activist Saleh Malabasi Arrested in Ahar

The daughter of an Azerbaijani political activist told Voice of America that her father was arrested on Monday, December 4, in Ahar, East Azerbaijan Province, and is being held in the quarantine section of the city's prison. Pinar Malabasi, daughter of political prisoner Saleh Malabasi, said that security agents entered their home by climbing over the wall and arrested her father 'with inhumane behavior' and 'without a judicial order and by creating an atmosphere of terror and fear.' She added: 'After a few hours, the agents contacted my aunt from the court and said that my father was transferred directly from the court to serve his sentence of three months and one day in prison for the charge of spreading falsehoods to disturb public opinion.' Pinar Malabasi noted: 'My father informed me in a phone call that he is in the quarantine section of Ahar prison.' According to the Azerbaijani Political Prisoners Defense Association (ADAP), the 101st branch of the criminal court in Ahar had previously sentenced Saleh Malabasi to three months and one day in prison for the charge of 'spreading falsehoods to disturb public opinion' based on several of his comments on Instagram. This Azerbaijani activist, who has protested against the policies of the Islamic Republic government in recent years, has also been arrested and imprisoned before. Pinar Malabasi told Voice of America that her father had been arrested in the years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013, and during the nationwide protests. She added: 'It can be said that he has been arrested for various reasons whenever something happened in Iran and Azerbaijan.' According to ADAP, in the latest case, security agents arrested Mr. Malabasi on October 9 of last year, coinciding with nationwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police. He was temporarily released from Tabriz prison on bail after a 17-day hunger strike. Pinar Malabasi also mentioned in her interview with Voice of America that government agents have harassed and abused her mother and sisters during these arrests, including beating them last year. Meanwhile, ADAP reported that families of three Azerbaijani detainees, Davood Shiri, Ali Babaei, and Javad Sudbar, stated that they were tortured to obtain video confessions and have been in solitary confinement for over 80 days. These civil activists, along with several others, have been arrested in recent months. Concerns from 200 activists about the continued detention of several national, civil, and political activists; threats to the families of detainees in several cities in Ardabil and East and West Azerbaijan provinces; extension of Farhad Hosseini's detention; the status of seven detainees in Tabriz remains unclear; dozens of protesters against the drying of Lake Urmia have been arrested in several cities; a civil activist has been sentenced to 16 years in prison and summarized two books about Azerbaijan.