Javad Sudbar and Ali Babaei Temporarily Released After 100 Days of Detention

Javad Sudbar and Ali Babaei, two Azerbaijani civil activists, were temporarily released from Tabriz prison on Saturday, December 23, after enduring more than 100 days of detention on a bail of 500 million tomans. According to the Azerbaijan Political Prisoners Defense Association (ADAP), the charges against these two political prisoners include 'gathering and colluding with the intent to act against national security by organizing a protest against the drying of Lake Urmia' and forming or joining the 'Democratlar' group to 'disrupt national security.' The report states that Mr. Sudbar and Mr. Babaei, who were arrested by government forces on September 13, spent most of their prison time in solitary confinement, and Javad Sudbar went on a hunger strike for 13 days in protest of his conditions. Earlier reports had indicated torture of these two and other civil activists detained in September at the Tabriz Intelligence Department. ADAP had previously reported on December 10 that those who were detained at the Tabriz Intelligence Department reported torture of Javad Sudbar, Ali Babaei, Yurosh Mehrali Bigloo, and Davood Shiri, among others. The Ministry of Intelligence has yet to respond to this statement. Nonetheless, several political, professional, and civil activists, as well as human rights organizations, have repeatedly pointed to the physical and psychological torture in prisons and detention centers of the Ministry of Intelligence or the Revolutionary Guards. ADAP noted that despite the release of Javad Sudbar and Ali Babaei, Yurosh Mehrali Bigloo, another imprisoned civil activist, and Milad Jalili, a Tabriz rapper who sang a song in support of these prisoners, remain in custody. Relatives of Mr. Mehrali Bigloo told ADAP that he has had no contact with his family except for a brief ten-second call on the sixth day of his detention, raising concerns about his health. According to the report, Salar Taher Afshar, another recently detained activist, was released on Friday with a bail of 200 million tomans. Sina Yousefi has reported on the torture of civil activists in the unofficial detention center of the Tabriz Intelligence Department, stating that Javad Sudbar's hunger strike continues, and his family has no news of him. Armita Paveer, a student activist, has been sentenced to imprisonment. Exclusive details on the 'torture' of civil activists in the 'unofficial' detention center of the Tabriz Intelligence Department are also mentioned.