Hundreds of Instagram Users Demand Freedom for Political Prisoners in Iran

The Azerbaijani Political Prisoners Defense Association (ADAP) reported that hundreds of Instagram users have called for the release of political prisoners, including a group of civil activists who have been detained in recent months in cities of East and West Azerbaijan provinces, as well as Ardabil. These Instagram users, mostly cultural, political, and social figures from Azerbaijan in Iran, condemned the arbitrary detention of Ayat (Yurosh) Mehrali Bigloo, who has been held in solitary confinement without any contact with his family for about 90 days in an unknown location. They demanded his release along with dozens of other political prisoners in the Islamic Republic's jails. According to ADAP, this campaign, titled 'Sisimize Ses Olun' (Be Our Voice), has started inside Iran, where users on Instagram mentioned the names of political prisoners including Ebrahim Rashidi, Ayat (Yurosh) Mehrali Bigloo, Mokhtar Ebrahimi, Asghar Faraji, Ali Rezaei (Havastani), Saleh Molla Abbasi, Mahmoud Ajaglu, Ali Rezaizadeh, Pejman Islami, Sahand Nour Mohammadzadeh, Mohammad Maleki, Milad Armon, Parviz Siyabi, Armita Paveer, Milad Jalili, Farzaneh Qareh Hasanlu, Hamid Qareh Hasanlu, and Ahmad Reza Jalali. They emphasized in their videos that these prisoners have committed no crime other than 'wanting happiness and freedom for all people and the national rights of Azerbaijanis in Iran,' and the Islamic Republic must unconditionally release them. Ebrahim Mohajer, the public relations officer of ADAP, told Voice of America that Mr. Mehrali Bigloo has been under interrogation by the Intelligence Department of Tabriz for 88 days with a temporary detention order, and his family is worried about the possibility of torture against this civil activist. Mohajer explained that the temporary detention order is the most severe form of pre-trial detention, based on clause 'D' of Article 217 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which must be decided by the court within a maximum of 10 days. He pointed out that this clause is one of the most controversial aspects of the Criminal Procedure Code and is typically abused by the Islamic Republic's security agencies, leading to long-term illegal detentions of social and political activists, and is used to intimidate and control opponents. The public relations officer of ADAP added that the temporary detention order contradicts the law and the principle of presumption of innocence, which states that no one can be punished until their crime is proven, but in the case of temporary detention, the accused is punished without proof of guilt. Mohajer noted that Ayat Mehrali Bigloo has only managed to make a 30-second phone call to his family since his arrest by the Islamic Republic's security forces and emphasized that every political prisoner has the right to have a lawyer and contact with their family. Mr. Mehrali Bigloo has been arrested before, including in 2012, when he was sentenced to 8 years for 'forming an illegal group' and 1 year for 'propaganda against the regime,' which was consolidated into an 8-year sentence. He had previously been arrested by security agencies in 2002, 2004, and 2010. Mohajer expressed concern that Ayat Mehrali Bigloo had suffered severe psychological and physical torture during previous detentions and feared the possibility of repeated torture in the Intelligence Department of Tabriz. He also reported that Ali Mousavi Aghdam, the head of the investigation branch, told Mr. Mehrali Bigloo's family during multiple visits that he must remain in detention until the preliminary investigations are completed and the case is finalized. According to Ebrahim Mohajer, this judicial official has threatened that the family's media coverage of this imprisoned civil activist in 'foreign and hostile media will lead to an extension of his temporary detention order.'