Resul Razavi's Hunger Strike Resumes in Tabriz Prison

Resul Razavi, an Azerbaijani activist imprisoned in Tabriz, has initiated a hunger strike since last Tuesday, as revealed in an audio file sent from the prison. Razavi, referring to his previous 20-day hunger strike in May of this year, noted that after 28 days of his hunger strike and at the request of his family, friends, and promises from judicial and prison officials, he suspended his hunger strike, but no positive outcome has been achieved regarding his case. Radio Farda, in an interview with Naghi Mahmoudi, a lawyer and legal expert residing in Germany who has previously represented many civil activists from Azerbaijan, inquired about the reasons for Razavi's hunger strike and the legal status of his case. Mahmoudi stated that Razavi's hunger strike is due to his multiple arrests in previous years, lack of access to a fair trial, physical and psychological torture inflicted during detention, and the issuance of prison sentences. According to Mahmoudi, 'When a prisoner, despite repeated requests for the handling of their case, does not receive the necessary and logical response and reaction, they are forced to resort to the last means of protest, which is their own life.' Mahmoudi also added that Razavi has been repeatedly arrested since 2010 for protesting the drying of Lake Urmia, objecting to the insulting program 'Fitileh' on the Islamic Republic of Iran's second television network, and protesting the dire situation of Uyghur Turks in China and the inhumane treatment of Uyghur protesters by police during the Quds Day ceremonies in Tabriz. Razavi was first arrested during the state-sponsored Quds Day rally in 2015 by the intelligence forces of the Ashura Corps in Azerbaijan, along with several others, in Tabriz's Saat Square. In the ruling issued by the head of the second branch of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court, the reason for Razavi's arrest was stated as 'possessing certain images and writings deemed deviant and the flag of the minority of Turkic-speaking individuals from China.' This branch of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court sentenced Razavi to six months of punitive imprisonment and six months of suspended imprisonment for 'propaganda activities against the regime.' This ruling was also upheld in the appeals court.