Alirza Quluncu, Voice of America, May 28, 2019
Shahin Xiyavli states that Turks in Iranian Azerbaijan are not allowed to organize political, social, and cultural events. According to him, most of the activists arrested by Iran's security forces were detained for participating in such events.
In an interview with Voice of America, the human rights defender recently commented on the human rights report published by the AHRAZ society, to which he belongs.
“This report we prepared has been directly sent to the UN human rights representative in Iran, Javid Rahman. Rahman’s next report will be about ethnic groups and religious minorities living in Iran,” Shahin Xiyavli states.
The AHRAZ report provides information on the current situation of Turkish activists in detention, including Latif Hasani, Siyamek Mirzayi, Ibrahim Nuri, Abbas Lisani, and Hakima Ahmadi.
According to the human rights defender, another significant issue addressed in the report is the restrictions on public, cultural, and political events.
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| Shahin Helali Khyavi, human rights activist |
“There is no freedom to hold events. Turkish activists are either arrested and prosecuted after participating in various ceremonies or they are summoned and threatened by security forces before the events take place. In fact, when we look at the list of detained activists, almost all of them have been arrested at ceremonies,” Xiyavli says.
The report also draws attention to the 18 death sentences carried out in the regions where Turks live over the past three months.
According to Xiyavli, the majority of death sentences in Iran are still carried out in poor regions where non-Persian communities live.
Iranian news agencies, citing state institutions, report that the provinces with the highest number of child marriages (for children under 14) in Iran are Zanjan, East Azerbaijan, and North Khorasan.
Shahin Xiyavli emphasizes that the issue of child marriage is most prominent in non-Persian and impoverished regions.
“Child marriages are more prevalent in Turkish areas and, in general, in provinces where non-Persian nations live, especially in poor regions,” says the human rights defender.
Shahin Xiyavli adds that Turkish activists in Iranian Azerbaijan must take the issue of increasing child marriage seriously.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
“İran Azərbaycanında uşaq nikahının artması problemi ciddiyə alınmalıdır”