Petition to Revoke the Sentences of Azerbaijani Political and Civil Activists in Iran
276
Signatures
500
Goal
June 3, 2026
We, the undersigned, express our deep concern over the continuing repression, arrest, prosecution, and harsh sentencing of Azerbaijani civil, cultural, and political activists in Iran. The recent convictions handed down against Azerbaijani activists reflect a deeply troubling pattern of criminalizing peaceful civic engagement, cultural expression, identity-based advocacy, and public dissent.
According to published reports, the Court of Appeals of East Azerbaijan Province has upheld heavy prison sentences against thirteen Azerbaijani activists, totaling more than 81 years of imprisonment.
The activists are: Yurosh Mehralibeyglu, Hamed Yeganeyur, Ebrahim Avazzadeh, Araz Ebrahimnejad, Hossein Azadi, Amirhossein Aghaei, Nasser Razmjou, Davoud Shiri, Javad Soudbar, Mehrdad Ghaderi, Ali Babaei, Mohammadreza Movahed, and Morteza Nourmohammadi.
The charges brought against them include “forming an illegal group,” “membership in an illegal group,” and “assembly and collusion against national security.” These broad, vague, and security-related accusations have repeatedly been used to suppress civil, cultural, ethnic, and political activists throughout Iran. Employing such charges against Azerbaijani activists constitutes a clear violation of the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and a fair trial.
In addition, Azerbaijani activist Ali Babaei, after months of repeated extensions of his detention and prolonged judicial proceedings, has been sentenced to three years and seven months in prison under a final ruling. Security forces in Tabriz arrested him in January 2026, and his case was handled within the broader context of an intensified security crackdown targeting Azerbaijani national and civil rights activists.
In another case, Habib Mehri, an Azerbaijani civil activist from Tabriz, was sentenced by Branch One of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court to six months’ imprisonment on charges of “propaganda against the state.” He was arrested in November 2025 following a raid on his home by security forces, who also confiscated his mobile phone. These cases demonstrate the ongoing pressure exerted on Azerbaijani activists and the authorities’ efforts to silence voices advocating for justice, equal rights, and the protection of linguistic, cultural, and civil freedoms.
We emphasize that civic activism, the defense of linguistic and cultural rights, peaceful protest, and the pursuit of equality must not be treated as crimes. The securitized treatment of Azerbaijani activists not only violates their fundamental rights but also forms part of a broader pattern of repression directed against Iran’s national, linguistic, cultural, and political minorities.
We call on the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran to:
- Immediately revoke the sentences issued against all of the Azerbaijani activists named above;
- Unconditionally release all Azerbaijani political prisoners and civil society activists;
- End the use of national security charges against civic, cultural, and identity-based activism;
- Guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and civic participation for all citizens, including Azerbaijanis;
- Fulfill Iran’s international human rights obligations, including respect for due process and the prohibition of arbitrary detention.
We also call on international human rights organizations, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, organizations defending freedom of expression, and the international community to respond urgently to the situation of Azerbaijani activists in Iran and to exert meaningful pressure for the reversal of these unjust sentences and the release of Azerbaijani political and civil prisoners.
Civic activism is not a crime. Defending one’s identity, language, and human dignity is not a crime. Do not silence the voice of Azerbaijan.
We demand the immediate revocation of these sentences, the unconditional release of Azerbaijani prisoners, and an end to the systematic repression of Azerbaijani civil, cultural, and political activists in Iran.
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Recent events
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See where all the votes are coming from
Province Number of signatures Alborz 5 Ardabil 11 Bushehr 1 Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari 1 East Azerbaijan 91 Fars 2 Gilan 2 Golestan 0 Hamadan 2 Hormozgan 0 Ilam 0 Isfahan 4 Kerman 1 Kermanshah 0 Khuzestan 1 Kohgiluyehv And Boyer Ahmad 0 Kurdistan 1 Lorestan 0 Markazi 0 Mazandaran 1 North Khorasan 0 Qazvin 0 Qom 0 Razavi Khorasan 2 Semnan 0 Sistan and Baluchestan 0 South Khorasan 0 Tehran 10 West Azerbaijan 20 Yazd 0 Zanjan 3 This petition has received 276 signatures so far. Approximately 89% of signatures come from Iran. Approximately 11% of signatures come from outside of Iran. Learn how Daadkhast generates signature maps. -
Latest signatures
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I am signing because peaceful civic activism, cultural expression, and advocacy for linguistic rights should never be treated as crimes.
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دفاع از هویت، زبان و کرامت انسانی جرم نیست. من خواهان لغو احکام ناعادلانه، و آزادی زندانیان سیاسی و مدنی آذربایجانی هستم.
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دفاع از هویت، زبان و کرامت انسانی جرم نیست. من خواهان لغو احکام ناعادلانه، و آزادی زندانیان سیاسی و مدنی آذربایجانی هستم.
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A Turkish Civil Rights Activist started this petition
دفاع از هویت، زبان و کرامت انسانی جرم نیست. من خواهان لغو احکام ناعادلانه، و آزادی زندانیان سیاسی و مدنی آذربایجانی هستم.