By Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, July 18, 2013
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| Hojjatoleslam Azimi Qadim delivering a speech at the commemoration ceremony for Sattar Khan, the National Commander, which was annually organized by activists of Azerbaijan's national civil movement until the Iranian government prohibited its holding in 2006. |
“We protested against the authorities of East Azerbaijan Province establishing relations with Armenia under the name of Tabriz and Azerbaijan, forming ties with occupiers,” said Hojjatoleslam Abdulaziz Azimi Qadim, who was sentenced to seven months in prison in Iran.
The Azerbaijani cleric spoke to Voice of America about the relations between East Azerbaijan Province and Armenia, protests held in Maragheh in opposition to these relations, and his subsequent detention and imprisonment for participating in these protests.
On December 27, 2012, Abdulaziz Azimi Qadim and several other activists, including Davood Azimzadeh, Bahman Khalighi, and Mohammad Dilnavaz, were arrested during a demonstration at Musalla Square in Maragheh protesting relations between Iran’s East Azerbaijan Province and the Republic of Armenia. They were transferred to the Ettelaat prison in Tabriz. According to Azimi Qadim, no force was used against the protesters in Maragheh, but the police prevented them from speaking.
Azimi Qadim explained that the protest was organized not against Iran-Armenia relations but against the expanding ties between East Azerbaijan Province and Armenia:
“We did not protest Iran-Armenia relations; that is a different issue. We exercised our legal right to protest against the officials of East Azerbaijan, who disregarded the plight of Karabakh refugees and established relations with Armenia under the name of Azerbaijan and Tabriz, forming ties with occupiers,” the cleric emphasized.
Hojjatoleslam Azimi Qadim, who was held for 45 days in Ettelaat prison and about a month in Tabriz prison, stated that he was not allowed to meet with his family or lawyer during his time at the Ettelaat detention center.
The cleric declined to comment on the charges brought against him by Tabriz’s Special Clerical Court, saying:
“The charges they listed are merely formalities for court procedures, and I do not wish to repeat those formalities. The reasons for my imprisonment are clear.”
Despite being a cleric, Azimi Qadim explained the reasons he has been subjected to pressure by the Islamic Republic of Iran:
“During the Shah's era, Aryanists and chauvinists were separate from Islamists. But in the Islamic Republic of Iran, these have merged. Many outwardly present themselves as Muslims but are internally Aryanists. It is hard to distinguish between them. They aim to portray the Azerbaijani movement as a current against Islam. Therefore, seeing a cleric in the Azerbaijani movement is difficult for them to accept.”
He stressed the necessity of distinguishing Aryan chauvinism from Islamism.
“The issue of Iranian Azerbaijanis is a cultural and political matter that should be addressed by cultural and political institutions. However, in Iran, this issue has been handed over to security agencies,” he said, adding that the Azerbaijani issue in Iran cannot be resolved through security measures.
Hojjatoleslam Azimi Qadim has previously faced arrests, persecution, and pressure from Iran’s security agencies. Amnesty International issued three statements regarding his situation during 2005-2006.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Güneyli din xadimi: İranda şovinizm və İslamçılıq bir-birinə qarışıb