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Today's Zaman, Turkey
July 21 2013
South Azerbaijani hunger strikers continue to plead case globally
21 July 2013 /GÖZDE NUR DONAT, ANKARA
Five South Azerbaijani politicians from northwestern Iran, imprisoned
for establishing a political party advocating their identity rights,
are continuing a hunger strike -- which has already turned critical
for their health -- that they started in an effort to have their
voices heard on the international scene due to the failure of Iran's
state-controlled media to report on their situation
The Tabriz Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced five South
Azerbaijani activists -- Latif Hassani (43), Mahmoud Fazli (45),
Shahram Radmehr (38), Ayat Mehr Ali Bayglu (35) and Behboud Gholi Zade
(48) -- to nine years in prison in May on the charge of forming an
illegal group, the New Southern Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement
Party (Yeni GAMOH), and distributing anti-government propaganda.
The political activists have been on a hunger strike in the central
prison in Tabriz since July 13 in protest of the sentence handed down
against them. Relatives of the victims have confirmed that some of the
activists have already been hospitalized because of the strike.
According to the latest update from the prisoners' families on Sunday,
visitations have been banned and the prisoners were transported on the
eighth day of their hunger strike to a prison in Tehran without
informing their families.
The imprisoned activists confirm that they will continue to strike
until their prison sentence is canceled, which they say the court
decided under the pressure of the Iranian intelligence community.
`Because of the Iranian media boycott on publishing news on Azeri
nationalists, this [hunger strike] is an opportunity for us to make
our voices heard internationally. This is just a stage in our
struggle,' stated Duman Radmehr, brother of prisoner Shahram Radmehr.
Tabriz intelligence and the Tabriz prosecutor's office had demanded
the most severe punishment for the prisoners, and it was given by the
court. The prisoners were detained during a series of arrests that
began in December last year in Iran, and they were sent to the central
prison in Tabriz.
Yeni GAMOH is an offshoot of GAMOH, an old party in Iran whose members
are currently in exile, as their party is illegal in the country. The
five imprisoned activists were on the administrative board of the new
party, under the chairmanship of Hassani.
Amnesty International issued a report on June 12 expressing worry for
the situation of imprisoned activists in Iran, including those five
from Yeni GAMOH.
Families of the prisoners have confirmed that the five activists were
in solitary confinement and that they were tortured physically and
mentally by Iranian intelligence officers before being sent to prison
in March. Included in the unlawful treatment of the detainees were
long periods of interrogation, severe beatings and days of solitary
confinement. They were only permitted to get a lawyer almost five
months after their detention and just one week before the court
hearing, the families also said.
All of Iran's Azeri political groups had to organize outside the
country because the Azerbaijani population is not a `recognized
minority' in the country. Article 26 of the Iranian constitution only
allows `[the] formation of parties, societies, political or
professional associations, as well as religious societies, whether
Islamic or pertaining to one of the recognized religious minorities.'
Karim Asghari, an active South Azerbaijani activist, told Today's
Zaman: `Iran could not accept that GAMOH, which it accused of having
foreign/external origins, was found to be operating inside the
country. [Yeni GAMOH] has declared that it wants transparent politics,
which has been lacking in Iran for many years.'
`New presidency won't decrease pressure on South Azerbaijanis
South Azerbaijanis think that the changing presidency in Iran due to
the June elections will not improve their situation, although the
president-elect, Hasan Rohani, is a moderate conservative supported by
Iranian democrats. His election has been read as a signal of a more
moderate Iranian policy, both vis-ŕ-vis domestic actors and foreign
relations.
South Azerbaijanis are not so optimistic about Rohani abiding by his
promise to them before the elections on allowing education in their
mother tongue. `After the elections, he [Rohani] has returned to the
state's old discourse, saying `all of us are Persians, so no need for
any other language,'' Asghari stated.
Shahin Helali Khyavi, a friend of the prisoners who is based outside
Iran, however, estimated that such a harsh punishment would not have
been made if the arrests and trials had not occurred during the last
period of the outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, indicating his
hope for Rohani.
Iranian-Azeri people living in northern Iran define themselves as
southern Azerbaijani Turks and are struggling with the Iranian regime
as they have been denied their ethnic rights granted in Articles 15
and 19 of the Iranian constitution, which provides for the equal
treatment of all ethnic groups and freedom to use their mother tongue
in media and education. However, these Azeri Turks in Iran have been
arbitrarily deprived of such rights, while other ethnic groups, such
as Armenians, enjoy their freedoms. Iran has an Armenian population of
200,000, while the number of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran amounts to 35
million.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-321501-south-azerbaijani-hunger-strikers-continue-to-plead-case-globally.html
July 21 2013
South Azerbaijani hunger strikers continue to plead case globally
21 July 2013 /GÖZDE NUR DONAT, ANKARA
Five South Azerbaijani politicians from northwestern Iran, imprisoned
for establishing a political party advocating their identity rights,
are continuing a hunger strike -- which has already turned critical
for their health -- that they started in an effort to have their
voices heard on the international scene due to the failure of Iran's
state-controlled media to report on their situation
The Tabriz Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced five South
Azerbaijani activists -- Latif Hassani (43), Mahmoud Fazli (45),
Shahram Radmehr (38), Ayat Mehr Ali Bayglu (35) and Behboud Gholi Zade
(48) -- to nine years in prison in May on the charge of forming an
illegal group, the New Southern Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement
Party (Yeni GAMOH), and distributing anti-government propaganda.
The political activists have been on a hunger strike in the central
prison in Tabriz since July 13 in protest of the sentence handed down
against them. Relatives of the victims have confirmed that some of the
activists have already been hospitalized because of the strike.
According to the latest update from the prisoners' families on Sunday,
visitations have been banned and the prisoners were transported on the
eighth day of their hunger strike to a prison in Tehran without
informing their families.
The imprisoned activists confirm that they will continue to strike
until their prison sentence is canceled, which they say the court
decided under the pressure of the Iranian intelligence community.
`Because of the Iranian media boycott on publishing news on Azeri
nationalists, this [hunger strike] is an opportunity for us to make
our voices heard internationally. This is just a stage in our
struggle,' stated Duman Radmehr, brother of prisoner Shahram Radmehr.
Tabriz intelligence and the Tabriz prosecutor's office had demanded
the most severe punishment for the prisoners, and it was given by the
court. The prisoners were detained during a series of arrests that
began in December last year in Iran, and they were sent to the central
prison in Tabriz.
Yeni GAMOH is an offshoot of GAMOH, an old party in Iran whose members
are currently in exile, as their party is illegal in the country. The
five imprisoned activists were on the administrative board of the new
party, under the chairmanship of Hassani.
Amnesty International issued a report on June 12 expressing worry for
the situation of imprisoned activists in Iran, including those five
from Yeni GAMOH.
Families of the prisoners have confirmed that the five activists were
in solitary confinement and that they were tortured physically and
mentally by Iranian intelligence officers before being sent to prison
in March. Included in the unlawful treatment of the detainees were
long periods of interrogation, severe beatings and days of solitary
confinement. They were only permitted to get a lawyer almost five
months after their detention and just one week before the court
hearing, the families also said.
All of Iran's Azeri political groups had to organize outside the
country because the Azerbaijani population is not a `recognized
minority' in the country. Article 26 of the Iranian constitution only
allows `[the] formation of parties, societies, political or
professional associations, as well as religious societies, whether
Islamic or pertaining to one of the recognized religious minorities.'
Karim Asghari, an active South Azerbaijani activist, told Today's
Zaman: `Iran could not accept that GAMOH, which it accused of having
foreign/external origins, was found to be operating inside the
country. [Yeni GAMOH] has declared that it wants transparent politics,
which has been lacking in Iran for many years.'
`New presidency won't decrease pressure on South Azerbaijanis
South Azerbaijanis think that the changing presidency in Iran due to
the June elections will not improve their situation, although the
president-elect, Hasan Rohani, is a moderate conservative supported by
Iranian democrats. His election has been read as a signal of a more
moderate Iranian policy, both vis-ŕ-vis domestic actors and foreign
relations.
South Azerbaijanis are not so optimistic about Rohani abiding by his
promise to them before the elections on allowing education in their
mother tongue. `After the elections, he [Rohani] has returned to the
state's old discourse, saying `all of us are Persians, so no need for
any other language,'' Asghari stated.
Shahin Helali Khyavi, a friend of the prisoners who is based outside
Iran, however, estimated that such a harsh punishment would not have
been made if the arrests and trials had not occurred during the last
period of the outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, indicating his
hope for Rohani.
Iranian-Azeri people living in northern Iran define themselves as
southern Azerbaijani Turks and are struggling with the Iranian regime
as they have been denied their ethnic rights granted in Articles 15
and 19 of the Iranian constitution, which provides for the equal
treatment of all ethnic groups and freedom to use their mother tongue
in media and education. However, these Azeri Turks in Iran have been
arbitrarily deprived of such rights, while other ethnic groups, such
as Armenians, enjoy their freedoms. Iran has an Armenian population of
200,000, while the number of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran amounts to 35
million.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-321501-south-azerbaijani-hunger-strikers-continue-to-plead-case-globally.html