SAHRW

Around 70 Iranian Azerbaijanis were reportedly arrested on 2 April during peaceful demonstrations in Tabriz, and about 20 others in Oromieh, north-western Iran.
The protesters were calling for Lake Oromieh to be saved, as it is at risk of drying out due to dam building. Most have been released but the whereabouts of at least five [...]

URGENT ACTION: FOOTBALL JOURNALIST HELD WITHOUT CHARGE
Football journalist Abdollah Sadoughi was arrested in the city of Tabriz, north-west Iran, on 18 January, after publishing a poster supporting the city’s Traktor Sazi football team. He is held without charge at Tabriz prison, and is on hunger strike in protest at what he considers to be his [...]

MDE 13/053/2009
9 June 2009
Iran: Election amid repression of dissent and unrest
The Iranian presidential elections are to be held this month on 12 June. The candidates are: the incumbent President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps; Former Prime Minister, Mir Hossein Mousavi (backed by former president, MohammadKhatami); and Mehdi [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/038/2009
27 April 2009
UA 113/09
Risk of Imminent Execution
IRAN Yunes Aghayan, (m)
Yunes Aghayan, a member of Iran’s Azerbaijani minority and an Ahl-e Haq follower, is at imminent risk of execution after being convicted of “enmity against God”. He is held in Oromieh Prison in West Azerbaijan Province, in north-west Iran. [...]

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/177/2008
15 December 2008
Further Information on UA 271/08 (MDE 13/142/2008, 23 September 2008) and follow-up (MDE 13/170/2008, 21 November 2008) - Fear for safety/fear of torture or other ill treatment/possible prisoners of conscience
IRAN:
Maqsoud Ahdi (m) ]
Mansour Aminian (m) ]
Dariush Hatemi (m), aged 29 ]
Aydin Khaje’i (m), aged 23 ] student activists for [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/171/2008
25 November 2008
Further Information on 269/08 (MDE 13/141/2008, 22 September 2008) and follow-up (MDE 13/158/2008) - Fear of torture and other ill-treatment/incommunicado detention
IRAN
Alireza (Elirza) Serrafi (m), civil engineer, journalist and cultural activist
Hassan (Hesen) Rashidi (m), engineer, writer and lecturer
Sa’id (Seid) Mohammadi (Mehemmedi) Mughanli (m), poet and journalist
Mehdi Na’imi (Neimi) [...]

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/170/08
21 November 2008
Further Information on 271/08 (MDE 13/142/2008, 23 September 2008) Fear for safety/fear of torture or ill treatment / possible prisoners of conscience
IRAN Maqsoud Ahdi (m) ]
Mansour Aminian (m) ]
Dariush Hatemi (m), 29 ]
Aydin Khaje’i (m), 23 ] student activists for the cultural rights of Iranian Azerbaijanis
Amir [...]

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/167/2008
13 November 2008
Further Information on UA 74/08 (MDE 13/050/2008, 17 March 2008) Prisoner of conscience/ Torture
IRAN Abbas Lisani (or Leysani) (m), activist
Prisoner of conscience, Abbas Lisani, was released from Yazd Prison in central Iran, on 29 October 2008 after serving two consecutive sentences totalling 30 [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/158/2008
23 October 2008
Further Information on 269/08 (MDE 13/141/2008, 22 September 2008) Fear of torture and other ill treatment/Incommunicado detention
IRAN:
Alireza (Elirza) Serrafi (m), civil engineer, journalist and cultural activist
Akbar (Ekber) Azad (m), writer
Hassan (Hesen) Rashidi (m), engineer, writer and lecturer
Sa’id (Seid) Mohammadi (Mehemmedi) Mughanli (m), poet and journalist
Hassan (Hesen) Rahimi (Rehimi) Bayat (m), [...]

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/142/2008
23 September 2008
UA 271/08 Fear for safety / fear of torture or ill treatment / possible prisoners of conscience
IRAN
Maqsoud Ahdi (m) ]
Mansour Aminian (m) ]
Dariush Hatemi (m), 29 ]
Aydin Khaje’i (m), 23 ] student activists for the cultural rights of Iranian Azerbaijanis
Amir Mardani (m) ]
Majid Makuyi (m) [...]

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/141/2008
22 September 2008
UA 269/08 Fear of Torture and other ill treatment/Incommunicado detention
IRAN Alireza (Elirza) Serrafi (m) , aged 53, civil engineer, journalist and cultural activist
Akbar (Ekber) Azad (m), writer
Hassan (Hesen) Rashidi (m), engineer, writer and lecturer
Sa’id (Seid) Mohammadi (Mehemmedi) Mughanli (m), poet [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/078/2008
5 June 2008
UA 158/08 Fear for safety / Fear of torture and other ill-treatment / Possible prisoners of conscience
IRAN
Hasan Asadi, (or Hesen Esedi) (m), aged 30 ]
Ali Sadeqi (or, Eli Sediqi) (m), aged 35 ]
Hojjat Tarverdian (m) aged 40 ]
Akbar Hosseinzadeh (m), aged 34 ]
Ahad [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/060/2008
26 March 2008
Further Information on UA 58/08 (MDE 13/040/2008, 6 March 2008) Fear of Torture
IRAN, Reza Daghestani (m), aged 27, Azerbaijani rights activist, student, journalist
Azerbaijani rights activist Reza Daghestani was released on 19 March, on a bail of around 40,000 US dollars.
He had been arrested on 21 February 2008 at his family [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/050/2008
17 March 2008
UA 74/08
Prisoner of conscience/Torture
IRAN, Abbas Lisani (or Leysani) (m), activist for Iranian Azerbaijani rights
Prisoner of conscience Abbas Lisani was moved to a new prison on 6 March so that his flogging sentence can be carried out. He is now in imminent danger of being flogged, which is cruel and inhuman [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/045/2008
10 March 2008
Further Information on UA 61/07 (MDE 13/027/2007, 09 March 2007) and follow-up (MDE 13/067/2007, 7 June 2007and MDE 13/035/2008, 7 February 2008) - Prisoners of conscience/Torture
IRAN, Jelil Ghanilou (m) - Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic right activist
Jelil Ghanilou, an Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic right activist, was released on 27 February and [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/040/2008
6 March 2008
UA 58/08
Fear of Torture
IRAN, Reza Daghestani (m), aged 27, Azerbaijani rights activist, student, journalist
Azerbaijani rights activist Reza Daghestani was arrested on 21 February 2008 at his family’s house in the city of Oroumiye. His house was searched and his computer, CDs, papers and books were confiscated, along with printouts of [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/035/2008
7 February 2008
Further Information on UA 61/07 (MDE 13/027/2007, 09 March 2007) and follow-up (MDE 13/067/2007, 7 June 2007) – Prisoners of conscience/Torture
IRAN: Jelil Ghanilou (m)]
Released:
Esma’il Javadi (m), aged 31, journalist]
Ebulfezl Alilu (m)]
Ramin Sadeghi (m) ] Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic
Qahreman Qanbarpour (m)] rights activists
Adel Allahverdipour (m)]
Safar Ali Kho’ini (m)]
Ja’far Haqnazari (m)]
All of those [...]

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/019/2008
30 January 2008
Further Information on UA 137/07 MDE 13/068/2007, 7 June 2007 and follow-up (MDE 13/106/2007, 23 August 2007) - Concern for safety/Torture, Ill-Treatment
IRAN Sa’id Metinpour (m), journalist, Azerbaijani cultural rights activist and Elirza Metinpour (brother)
Sa’id Metinpour was arrested on 25 May 2007, in the north-western city of Zenjan, and is [...]

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/015/2008
25 January 2008
UA 21/08 Torture/possible prisoners of conscience/medical concern
IRAN
Behrouz Seferi (Safari in Azerbaijani Turkic) (m), Iranian Azerbaijani
Layla Heydari (f), his wife
Iranian Azerbaijani Behrouz Seferi, who has campaigned for Iran’s Azerbaijani minority to be given greater rights to use their mother tongue, is now known to have been detained without charge or [...]

PUBLIC
AI Index: MDE 13/108/2007
31 August 2007
UA 229/07
Prisoner of conscience/fear of torture
IRAN, Amir Abbas Banayi Kazimi (m), Azerbaijani language rights activist
Azerbaijani language rights activist Amir Abbas Banayi Kazimi was beaten and detained on 14 May at his home in Tabriz: he was reportedly first [...]