Iran targets Azeri ethnic minority activists to 'silence dissent,' Human Rights Watch report reveals

Iran jailed at least two dozen Azeri minority activists since October, Human Rights Watch reported on Sunday, adding that Iranian authorities did not present any real evidence against them when it issued the “heavy prison sentences”.

The HRW report comes at a time of worsening relations between Baku and Tehran, with Azeris representing the largest ethnic minority in Iran.

The prison sentences against 10 Azeri activists, ranging between 3 to 14 years, were issued by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court on various charges, which HRW calls a “repression to crush civil society and prevent ethnic minorities from demanding their basic rights.”

In a detailed documented report quoting “informed sources,” HRW said some of the detainees were accused of activism on issues like environmental concerns and advocating for the civil rights of ethnic groups in Iran, as well as involvement in assisting family members of protesters killed or injured during the 2022 protests in Iran.

Others were charged with “membership in an opposition group,” “propaganda against the state,” “conspiracy against the country,” and “forming an opposition group against the state.”

“Iranian authorities systematically target civil society and ethnic minorities with abusive charges and heavy prison sentences to silence dissent,” said Nahid Naghshbandi, acting Iran researcher at HRW.

HRW said that Iranian authorities systematically deny medical care to the detainees, with some being kept in solitary confinement and subjected to psychological pressure.