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| "Yağış" Student Magazine |
The activities of the "Yağış" magazine, published by Turkish students at Gilan University in Iran's Gilan province, were halted after its first issue.
According to information released by the magazine's administrators, the decision to stop the publication after the first issue stemmed from reasons such as publishing articles on ethnic rights in Iran, using historical monuments' Turkish names, referring to the Caspian Sea as "Khazar," and including photos related to Karabakh.
"Yağış" magazine, directed by Ibrahim Genci and with a team including prominent national activists like Hasan Rashidi and Vedud Asadi, announced on social media that no complaints were lodged against it by any individual or legal entity. They claimed the suspension of the magazine's activities was an illegal and personal initiative of the university authorities.
"This was done without considering the fifth and sixth sections of the procedural regulations for monitoring university publications. Thus, this decision holds no legal or informal validity."
"In the continuation of the repression of the pen, this time, it was the turn of the 'Yağış' student magazine to be suspended, delivering another blow to writers and the Azerbaijani student movement," the magazine's administrators stated in a declaration published on July 16.
“Following the attempts to prepare the second issue of the 'Yağış' student magazine, officials verbally announced that the magazine could no longer continue its activities. However, when asked about the reasons for the suspension, they pointed to the use of the term 'Khazar' instead of 'Caspian,' the usage of the term 'Turk,' referencing historical Turkish sites, and addressing the rights of ethnic groups," the statement read.
Previously, the activities of numerous student magazines in Iranian Azerbaijan, including Açıq Söz at Tabriz Azad University, Elin at Maragheh University, and Dəniz at Urmia University, were similarly suspended.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Gilan universitetinde türkcə-farsca "Yağış" jurnalı qapadılıb