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| Mehsa Mehdili |
Southern activist Mehsa Mehdili, in an interview with Voice of America, provides information about the mass protests in Iranian Azerbaijan and the wave of arrests initiated against the Turks. She also evaluates the nature of the protests, the police violence applied to the protesters, the level of women's participation in the protests, and how the events were reflected in the Turkish media.
The southern activist emphasizes that some of those detained have been temporarily released on bail, while others are still under detention due to not being able to provide adequate guarantees, and some people's status remains unknown.
"All releases are temporary. It seems that both arrests will continue, and we will have to wait to see how the trials of those released will be conducted, under what conditions, and what verdicts will be given," says Mehdili.
Evaluating the charges faced by those arrested, the southern activist notes that the Iranian government views both the protests and the court processes through a security lens:
"It doesn't matter whether it's language courses, dance classes, or protests; the government sees all of these as security issues. This time, those arrested have been charged with activities against national security and pan-Turkism. These are the charges activists always face."
Emphasizing that the mass protests were peaceful and cultural in nature, Mehsa states that, on the other hand, Iranian police forces applied force and violence in many cases:
"The protests were entirely peaceful. In all the widespread videos and images, there is no sign of any violent actions from the protesters. Unfortunately, instead of responding to cultural protests with understanding, the other side responded with repression and violence. Unfortunately, those detained were beaten and mistreated when arrested."
She points to the pressure faced by the Molla-Abbasi family, along with their children, in the city of Ahar in East Azerbaijan province.
The former political prisoner, now living in exile in Turkey, also evaluates the level of female participation in the mass protests.
"Looking at Iran in general, women's participation in all social movements is low, meaning the community's engagement is also low. But it is an achievement that in Azerbaijan, the participation of women in the Turkish movements is increasing. Compared to other movements in Iran, this time both the participation was higher, and it was reflected well in the media."
Mehsa Mehdili criticizes Iranian feminist groups for ignoring the wide participation of Iranian Turkish women, pointing out that these groups fail to acknowledge their involvement:
"Those who work on women's rights in Iran and feminist groups even reflect the participation of women from other countries in social movements, but they did not reflect the high-level participation of Turkish women in Iran, who peacefully participated with placards, sending beautiful messages of peace and harmony."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Məhsa Mehdili: İranda türk qadınları aksiyalara geniş şəkildə qatılır