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| Musa Berzin |
In August 2011, after the Iranian Parliament rejected a proposal by Azerbaijani deputies to save Lake Urmia, mass protests erupted, leading to a wave of arrests in the cities of Tabriz and Urmia. While many arrests took place during and after the protests in the city streets, 29 Azerbaijani activists were detained days before the protests at a house in the Qumtepe neighborhood of Tabriz, where they were visiting. Musa Berzin Khalifali, who was arrested at the time and later managed to leave the country, spoke to Voice of America.
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| Activists who received prison sentences. |
Azerbaijani lawyer Musa Berzin Khalifali, who has been living as a refugee in Turkey for about three months, was also one of the 29 Azerbaijanis arrested at the Qumtepe meeting. In an interview with Voice of America, he stated that all the processes, from the day of their detention to the trial and the execution of the sentences, were carried out illegally.
Musa Berzin, who has defended many Azerbaijani activists in court in recent years, said that security officers used force during the arrests and did not present a court order. He also noted that the detainees were kept in solitary confinement and had their eyes covered during interrogations. He emphasized that such practices violate Iranian laws and international legal norms.
According to Musa Berzin, the Qumtepe meeting was solely about discussing the drying up of Lake Urmia and ways to prevent an environmental disaster. He added that arresting and prosecuting people simply for discussing an issue, even if for negative purposes, is illegal.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Musa Bərzin: Urmiyə Gölü ilə bağlı həbslər qanunsuzdur