Request for 'Public Trial' with Jury Presence for Political Activists in Azerbaijan

762 activists inside and outside Iran have participated in the campaign 'Public Trial of Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan' by signing a petition, demanding public trials with jury presence for Azerbaijani political activists in Iran. The founders of this campaign have informed the Azerbaijani Political Prisoners Defense Association (ADAP) that over the past year, the number of cases against Azerbaijani activists in Iran has increased, with the government attributing serious security charges such as conspiracy, formation and membership in groups, and espionage to them, unrelated to their peaceful activities. This campaign emphasizes that the Iranian government denies the existence of political prisoners in Iranian prisons in response to international calls for their release, claiming that these individuals are detained for 'committing security crimes against the people'. The signatories of this letter have expressed their opposition to the 'non-public and secret' trials of these prisoners and have called for public trials to be held live in front of television cameras, with the presence of a real jury, lawyers, representatives of human rights organizations, and media personnel. They also consider the issuance of 'conviction' sentences without holding a public trial as an example of 'oppression and deception of public opinion' and deem it 'illegitimate'. In recent months, there have been several instances of group arrests of political and civil activists in Azerbaijan by security agencies. The pressure from the Iranian government and security agencies on political activists among ethnic groups and minorities is due to what the government calls 'separatist activities'. Last month, dozens of these Azerbaijani civil activists were arrested by the security forces of the Islamic Republic. The letter states that at least 10 of these activists are still in detention. This comes as the first wave of arrests of political and civil activists in Azerbaijan coincided with the approach of the anniversary of the beginning of nationwide protests in 2022.