ADAPP’s press release
October 19, 2022
The Association for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP) strenuously condemns the brutal crackdown against Azerbaijani protesters and other protesters in the streets of Iran. We call on the United Nations to urgently take the necessary steps to implement significant and consequential sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran for abusing human rights and their ongoing violence against peaceful protesters.
We are pleading that the international community takes meaningful actions in condemning the IRGC’s horrific policies and actions, such as cutting diplomatic relations and financial support and ties with Iran and designating the IRGC, which had a primary and essential role in attacking protesters in the Azerbaijani region of Iran, as a globally recognized terrorist organization. These actions will significantly impact the IRGC members’ ability to continue their brutal actions against Azerbaijanis and all protesters in Iran.
Following the death of MahsaJinaAmini on September 16, 2022, anti-government protests erupted in all parts of Iran, and Azerbaijani Turks in Iran have played an essential role in this nationwide movement has also garnered massive global support. The government’s reaction to these peaceful protests is one of continuing violent suppression, including the use of chemical deterrents, imprisonment without representation, significant injuries, and death. The Iranian regime used shotguns and live ammunition to suppress these protests in Azerbaijani provinces. Based on footage circulating in social media in the first days of protests, a young girl was murdered by Iran’s riot forces in the streets ofTabriz, whom we have been unable to identify to this date. In the following days, more Azerbaijani protesters were killed by Iranian police and IRGC in the continued protests. We could only identify some of the victims; including Hadis Najafi in Karaj, Mehrdad Qurbani & Mehdi MusaviNiku in Zanjan, Javad Heidari in Qazvin, ParsaRezadust in Hashtgerd-Karaj, and NimaShafiqpur in Salmas, Mohsen Musavi in Tehran, Asra Panahi Khangah&HaanaDuzduzani&AytekMikaili in Ardabil. In addition, the Islamic Republic of Iran arrested thousands in the ethnic Azerbaijani region of Iran. According to the head of the Human Rights Commission of the Iranian Azerbaijan Bar Association, in just the city of Tabriz alone, 1,700 people were arrested from September 16 to October 12/2022. The Iranian regime also cracked down on Azerbaijani Human rights defenders and lawyers and arrested SinaYusifi and MohammedrezaFagihi, well-known lawyers representing many political prisoners in the Azerbaijani region of Iran. They also arrested two other members of the Human Rights Commission of the Iranian Azerbaijan Bar Association, Amir Mehdipur, and QasemBoadiBonab.
Although protests erupted after the Morality Police’s actions in oppressing women and forcing the mandatory use of the hijab, the demands for justice from the protestors are not limited to the issue of women’s rights. Protesters in Azerbaijani cities are chanting slogans supporting women and ethnic rights and fighting against this brutal and repressive dictatorship.
The association for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP) is a nonprofit organization based in Toronto, Canada. ADAPP is conducting ongoing monitoring of the human rights situation in the Azerbaijani region of Iran.
It is difficult to provide a current and exact number of detainees and their identities. However, based on ADAPP’s sources in the different cities of the Azerbaijani region ofIran and the video footage we have received, we estimate that 10,000 people were detained in Azerbaijani provinces since the start of the protests, with many of themreleased for bail after a short interrogation. However, many remain in jail, and some of them, like Mehdi Hamidi Shafiq, were tortured during the interrogation by IRGC. The following names are some of the detainees we have been able to locate and identify:
Tabriz: Mehdi Hamidi Shafiq, Mohammad Siamaknia(Bailed out), AtilaArfai(Bailed out), AtilaSadeqifar, Ahad Afsar, Babak Farahmandi, Saman Abdollahi, AsalNahi, Saghar Saadat, MelikaLaame, Narges Amiri, FarideAmini, SevdaArashkia, HuriyeFakhimfard, PuriaVafayifard, Aydin AlipoorMoqtader, Ali Nikseresht, Ahmad Maroufi, Farid HosseiniAzar, Sina Salehi, Sajjad Zarrabi, HesamAbedini, NavidQalqale, NimaQalqale, Mohammad Najafi, Ariyan Nazari, Reza Nemati, Alireza NaqaviSeyedlar, Saeed Hadi, RaminBahlooli, Farzad TaqaviBayat, Seyyed Hasan Zeynali, HojjatSoltani, Hamed Zarifi, Mehdi Abedi, Arash Ahmadi Kobra, PuriaPurhemmati, SahandKhatayi, Isa Ali Babayi, PuyaDavari, MirhadiRazavizade, Matin Heidari, Mirsajjad Hosseini, Armin Asl Mohammadzade, PezhmanEslami, Mohammadreza Movahhed, Babak Mehrinezhad, Ali Alipour, ArashEffatiTikmedash, Ramin Behzad(Bailed out), Mohammad javadTarbiat, FirouzMoeini, Bahram Yaqubi, Ali Kuhi, Mehran Mohammadian, Nima Ebrahimi, Puya Ebrahimi, LoqmanDarvishi, Mohammad Azimi, Ali Norouz Asl Khiabani, Amir Abdollahi, Mostafa Mehrdad, Mahan Ranjbar, NimaZarrabiyan, Ali Keshvargir, Majid Abdi Sanjaran, NimaSerajian, Mohammadreza Amiran, Arvin Ebrahimi, Erfan Abadi Fard, Amir MortazaBaybourdi, Amir Mohammadzade, HadiMajidnia, Salar Najafi, FarhadAghajani, Babak Dehqani, ArefNiyazi, Mohammad Shekari, Hamed Ranjbar, Yashar Nouri, AtabakMahaseni, Amir Ali Kazemi, Amir Safari, Mehdi Tizjang, Naser Razi, Farzad Heyratangiz, Faraz Mohammadi, HesamNeamatollahi, Mehdi Jangsetiz, SalarBanihashem, PeimanLahuti, Nima Karimi, Atabak Mohammadi, Ali Alipur, Naser Zeyni, Mehdi Khalvati, Amir Afzali, Masoud Taqiyan, ErfanZardhey, AysanAdibeig(Bailed out),SadiqeAdibeig(Bailed out), HeliaMoaseqi, Reza Abdollahipiralilu
Urmia: MasoumeMaleki, Sina Hosseini, Salim Mirzaei, SiavashSoleimanipour, Salar Taher Afshar, Aylar Ahmadi, ElaheBayramian, AmirHosseinShokuhi, Shiva Kianfar
Ardabil: MeysamJolani, Mohammad Jolani, AsgarAkbarzade, Mohsen Mohsenzade(Bailed out), Said Sadeqifar, Amir Qazizade, Sajjad Majidi, Hale Ershadi, Ebrahim Pakdel, Reza Qorbani, Babak Hamrang, Sajjad QaneMoqaddam, Mohammad Javani, Yashar Akbarzade, Yousef Kari, FirouzMoayyani, Mehdi Bidar, YunesSababi, Mehdi Khaledi, Mehdi Jafarpur, Mehdi Asadi, SinaNovruzi,PeymanMonadi Asl, Milad Alivand, Said Ahmadi, Mohammadreza Chamchaman, Yusef Yusefi, Mohammad mehdi Ebrahimi, ErfanZareiyan, Mohammad Jalali, TohidManuchehri, Hossein Javadi, Abbas Nasiri, Mariam Afsharnia, MohammadAminShafinezhad, Ahmad Rostami, MoinHadisi, MobinMikailvand, SinaMikaili, MirabbasMirhabibi, ArashAshkani, MouyaAlizade, Ali Alavi
Malekan: Romina Rahmani, MobinaRahmani, Mehri Golafshan, Mehdi Pourkarim(Bailed out), Amirhossein Khalilzade(Bailed out), MeysamZahmatkesh(Bailed out), Ali Zahmatkesh, Mostafa Azali, Amir Sadeqian(Bailed out), Behnam Monajjemi, Saeed Ilkhani(Bailed out)
Abhar: Saideh Moradi, Ali Maqsudi, Alireza Razavi
Ahar:Saleh MollaAbbasi
Marand: Hamed Pourabutaleb, ErfanShahbazi, MortezaMaleki
Khoy: Javad Ahmadi Yekanli / Sarab: Zahra Pandi / Shabestar: Majid Valizade
Khiyav (MeshkinShahr): Mehrdad Hazrati, Atabak Nouri, Sina Mohammad Hosseini
Zanjan: SafiyeQarabaghi, Mehdi Dadgar / Karaj: Sarina Esmaeilzadeh /Tehran: Meysam Beheshti / Sulduz (Naqade): Khalil Moradi, Bahram Jafari
