"Siyamek Mirzayi Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison and Exile for Cultural Activities"

 Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, February 06, 2017

Yashar Asadi

Activist Yashar Asadi, based in the United States, spoke to Voice of America about the human rights situation in Iranian Azerbaijan. He commented on the recent 10-year prison sentence and two-year exile given to prominent Turkish activist Siyamek Mirzayi. Asadi emphasized that Mirzayi's activities were solely cultural, and the ruling was “harsh, illegal, and unjust.”

A six-page verdict handed down by the Revolutionary Court in Baharestan, Tehran province, has been circulated on websites and social media. The document details Mirzayi’s articles, activities on social media, congratulatory messages he sent related to various events, and his participation in gatherings as evidence of the charges against him.

According to Yashar Asadi, “Since all of Siyamek Mirzayi’s activities were cultural, the judge and security forces couldn’t find any excuse, and thus, they issued such a verdict.”

Siyamek Mirzayi

The document also claims that the well-known activist “promised in 2006 to stop his Pan-Turkist activities but continued to engage in them.”

The verdict also states: “The defendant compiled a list of Turkish ethnic groups and claimed that Iranians, Chinese, Azerbaijanis, Turks, and Central Asians all come from the same ethnic origin…”

According to the ruling, after completing his 10-year prison sentence in Tehran province, Mirzayi will be sent to the city of Tabas in South Khorasan province to serve his two-year exile.

Siyamek Mirzayi had criticized the Iranian Islamic Republic’s policies toward the Turkish language and culture in an interview with Voice of America in February 2015.

Yashar Asadi also provided information about the situation of imprisoned hunger striker Mehdi Kukhiyan and Turkish activists sentenced to eight months in prison in Urmia.

“Mehdi Kukhiyan was responsible for a channel on the Telegram social network. He was arrested because of his activities there. He announced a hunger strike due to his illegal detention. Later, reports came that he continued the hunger strike by stitching his lips,” Asadi stated.

Activists Sentenced to 8 Months in Prison in Urmia

The Urmia Court sentenced Sumayyah Alidusti, Vahid Faizpur, Ghulam Quluzadeh, Meysam Azadi, Vahid Nasibi, and Murtaza Zarrini to eight months in prison in connection with the International Day of Support for Torture Victims event held in 2013.

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Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
“Siyamək Mirzayi mədəni fəaliyyətləri üzündən 12 il həbs və sürgünə məhkum edilib.”