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| Mohammad Reza Evezpoor |
16-year-old Tabriz student Mohammad Reza Evezpoor has been sentenced to 6 months in prison by the 118th Tabriz branch of the Islamic Revolution Court on charges of insulting the leader of the Islamic Revolution. Currently, the student is preparing to appeal the court's decision. Mohammad Reza's brother, Mustafa Evezpoor, says that the sentence is related to his brother's previous arrest last year. The student was detained by Basij paramilitary patrol officers while he was relaxing in a park.
Mustafa Evezpoor claims that the charges against Mohammad Reza are completely baseless. Mohammad Reza Evezpoor has been arrested several times before. He was arrested in April 2006 and again in September 2007, and he has two other court verdicts against him. He has been accused of pan-Turkism and anti-state activities for writing the slogan "I'm a Turk" on a wall.
In May 2006, Amnesty International launched a protest campaign against the torture of Evezpoor after his arrest. It was reported that the 14-year-old student had been kept suspended by his feet for two days, without access to water, food, or a toilet. Mustafa Evezpoor says that his brother underwent severe psychological trauma due to the torture, being held in the same cell as dangerous criminals, and the pressure he faced.
During Mohammad Reza's 2006 arrest, his brothers Mustafa and Murtaza were also detained. Mustafa Evezpoor says that their family's persecution stems from their struggle for national and cultural rights.
Mohammad Reza Evezpoor has an outstanding 9-month prison sentence from previous court cases. If his appeals regarding the sentences and the latest court ruling are not accepted, he is facing an additional 15 months in prison.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
«Mən türkəm» şüarını yazan məktəbli yenidən həbs olundu