Urgent Petition for the Release of Siamak Mirzaei, Ali Vaseghi, and Asgar Akbarzadeh, Azerbaijani Turk Activists
48
Signatures
500
Goal
August 10, 2026
On June 28, 2026, corresponding to 7 Tir 1405, security forces arrested Siamak Mirzaei, Ali Vaseghi, and Asgar Akbarzadeh, three Azerbaijani Turk civil and cultural activists. Mirzaei was arrested in Meshgin Shahr, while Vaseghi and Akbarzadeh were arrested in Ardabil. Security agents searched their homes and workplaces and confiscated personal belongings and electronic devices.
The three activists were initially taken to Intelligence Ministry detention facilities for interrogation. After several days, Mirzaei and Vaseghi were transferred to Ardabil Central Prison. Akbarzadeh was held at an Intelligence Ministry detention facility for approximately 21 days before he, too, was transferred to prison.
Several weeks after their arrests, no clear and independently verifiable information has been made public about the grounds for their detention, the evidence against them, the timetable for judicial proceedings, their effective access to lawyers of their choosing, or the conditions under which they were interrogated. Their continued detention under such opaque circumstances raises serious concerns about violations of their rights to liberty, due process, a fair trial, and legal protection.
At stake is not only the freedom of three civil society activists. Also at risk are families’ right to live free from fear, children’s right to have their parents present in their lives, and everyone’s right to express their views and participate peacefully in society.
Cultural work, advocacy for linguistic and identity rights, civic expression, and media activity should not be met with detention or national security charges. No one should be separated from their family and children merely for peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression and participating in civil society.
The continued detention of Siamak Mirzaei, Ali Vaseghi, and Asgar Akbarzadeh, without transparent disclosure of the reasons for their arrest, full access to independent legal counsel, and fair judicial proceedings, is inconsistent with fundamental human rights principles and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s international obligations.
We therefore call for:
- The immediate and unconditional release of Siamak Mirzaei, Ali Vaseghi, and Asgar Akbarzadeh.
- Full and transparent disclosure of the reasons for their arrests, the precise charges against them, the evidence supporting those charges, and the judicial authority responsible for their cases.
- Immediate and unrestricted access for all three men to independent lawyers of their choosing, as well as regular telephone contact and visits with their families and children.
- Effective safeguards against psychological pressure, mistreatment, coercive interrogation, and any attempt to compel them to incriminate themselves.
- Continued monitoring of their cases and conditions of detention by international human rights bodies until all three have been fully released.
We call on media organizations, academics, writers, artists, independent lawyers, civil society advocates, and all who value freedom and human dignity to amplify the voices of these three prisoners and their families.
Siamak Mirzaei, Ali Vaseghi, and Asgar Akbarzadeh must be released immediately and unconditionally.
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Province Number of signatures Alborz 0 Ardabil 4 Bushehr 0 Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari 0 East Azerbaijan 2 Fars 0 Gilan 1 Golestan 0 Hamadan 0 Hormozgan 0 Ilam 0 Isfahan 0 Kerman 0 Kermanshah 0 Khuzestan 0 Kohgiluyehv And Boyer Ahmad 0 Kurdistan 0 Lorestan 0 Markazi 0 Mazandaran 0 North Khorasan 0 Qazvin 0 Qom 0 Razavi Khorasan 0 Semnan 0 Sistan and Baluchestan 0 South Khorasan 0 Tehran 1 West Azerbaijan 0 Yazd 0 Zanjan 0 This petition has received 48 signatures so far. Approximately 80% of signatures come from Iran. Approximately 20% of signatures come from outside of Iran. Learn how Daadkhast generates signature maps. -
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فعالیت فرهنگی، دفاع از حقوق زبانی و هویتی، بیان دیدگاههای مدنی و فعالیت رسانهای نباید با بازداشت و اتهامات امنیتی پاسخ داده شود.
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فعالیت فرهنگی، دفاع از حقوق زبانی و هویتی، بیان دیدگاههای مدنی و فعالیت رسانهای نباید با بازداشت و اتهامات امنیتی پاسخ داده شود.
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فعالیت فرهنگی، دفاع از حقوق زبانی و هویتی، بیان دیدگاههای مدنی و فعالیت رسانهای نباید با بازداشت و اتهامات امنیتی پاسخ داده شود.
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