The General Court of Tabriz has upheld the appeal of the Mahmudi family, who had been unable to obtain an identity card for their child named "Khagan."
According to human rights defenders active in the region, the Mahmudi family had been fighting for about two months to obtain an identity card for their child with the name "Khagan."
After the Tabriz Civil Registration Office refused to issue an identity card with the Turkish name chosen by the family, the Mahmudi family appealed to the Tabriz General Court. Now, based on the decision of the court's 39th branch, the registration office will be required to issue the identity card for the name "Khagan."
The court decision, a copy of which was also obtained by Voice of America, states: "There is no document indicating that the name 'Khagan' is prohibited, and this name does not contradict culture, customs, or religious rituals."
In recent months, news has spread of several families in East Azerbaijan Province who have appealed to the court to obtain identity cards for their children with Turkish names of their choice.
In Iranian Azerbaijan and Tehran, many families are forced to struggle for months, or even years, to obtain identity cards for their children with the Turkish names they have chosen. Some of them have tried to raise their voices through social media in addition to addressing various government institutions.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Təbriz məhkəməsi uşağına Xaqan adı ilə şəxsiyyət vəsiqəsi istəyən ailənin şikayətini təmin edib