Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, September 15, 2014
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| Daryoush Andalibian |
Southern Azerbaijani activist Daryoush Andalibian, who was sentenced to nine months in prison by Iranian courts for attending the anniversary ceremony of the Azerbaijan National Government, told Voice of America that the court’s decision was made under the orders of Iran’s security agencies.
Daryoush Andalibian, along with Habib Manafi Azer, Javad Sudbar, Yousuf Mokhtari, and Mokhtar Ibrahimi, was arrested by Ettelaat agents on December 12 of the previous year in the city of Qoshachay (Miandoab), West Azerbaijan Province, while commemorating the anniversary of the Azerbaijan National Government, which was established in 1945-46 under the leadership of Seyid Jafar Pishevari.
Andalibian describes how security forces used excessive force against them and their families on the day of their arrest.
“To commemorate the anniversary of the National Government on December 12, 2013, we went to the village where Khanali Muti, one of the government’s participants, was buried. The Ettelaat agents were already there before us… They beat the men and attacked the women with pepper spray. One of the detainees, Habib Manafi Azer, had two ribs broken and had to be hospitalized,” said Daryoush Andalibian, recounting the violent actions of security forces against them during the ceremony.
After being interrogated for 11 days, Andalibian and the other four activists were temporarily released on bail. Later, the Mahabad Revolutionary Court sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 91 days to nine months. They appealed the verdict, but the Court of Appeals of West Azerbaijan Province recently upheld the ruling.
Andalibian, who received the longest sentence—nine months—stated that he was denied access to a lawyer during his detention and trial and was pressured into signing documents related to activities he had not committed.
He stressed that the prison sentences given to him and his fellow activists violated not only international law but also the legal framework of the Islamic Republic of Iran itself.
“In the prison where they took us, there were only 21 beds for 60 people. In the cold of winter, we had to sleep on the floor… They did not provide us with a lawyer, and since we had no contact with the outside world, we couldn’t hire one ourselves,” said the activist from Qoshachay, recalling his days in detention.
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| Activists Sentenced to Prison |
According to him, the judge at the Mahabad (Soyuqbulaq) Revolutionary Court did not even allow them to defend themselves:
“The judge didn’t let us speak. He said there was no need, as the documents already proved everything. The so-called ‘documents’ he referred to were just photos from our past anniversary gatherings for the National Government and ceremonies held in support of political prisoners. We had taken these photos ourselves and posted them online.”
Andalibian emphasized that he had not engaged in any illegal activities and that he was simply demanding the rights of his people within the legal framework.
“We are asking for the right to education in the Turkish language. Even Iran’s constitution acknowledges this right. President Hassan Rouhani himself made promises regarding our demands during his election campaign,” said Andalibian, condemning the pressure exerted by Ettelaat against them.
“We were not surprised when the Appeals Court upheld the same verdict. They usually make decisions based on orders from Ettelaat,” he added.
The Azerbaijani National Government, established under the leadership of Seyid Jafar Pishevari in December 1945, was overthrown in December 1946 following an invasion by the Iranian army into Azerbaijani cities.
“The Iranian army returned to Azerbaijan with a roar. The soldiers, in a disorderly manner, looted and plundered everything they wanted… The Iranian army—the so-called ‘army of liberation’—was in fact a brutal occupying force. It left behind a cruel mark on the people. Villagers’ crops were burned, women and girls were raped. Homes were ransacked, livestock was stolen. The army had lost control. Its mission was supposed to be liberation, but instead, it hunted down civilians, leaving behind death and destruction,” wrote U.S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, who visited Azerbaijan during that time, in his book Strange Lands and Friendly People, describing the Iranian army’s invasion of Azerbaijani cities.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Daryuş Əndəlibiyan: Məhkəmə qanunsuz hökm çıxarıb, bizim fəaliyyətlər qanunidir