Eight jailed Azerbaijani Turk rights activists in Iran have ended the hunger strike started a few days ago.
The decision to stop the strike comes after the prison officials agreed to satisfy the activists’ demands to separate them from inmates who have committed grave crimes. The prison officials have also promised not to violate others rights of the activists in the prison.
The hunger strike started on June 12 by prominent human rights activists Abbas Lesani and Yusif Kari. The two men on June 13 declared a dry hunger strike in which they also refuse water.
Three more Azerbaijani Turk activists in Ardabil prison – Mehrdad Sheykhi, Ali Vasiqi and Rza Vasiqi – joined the hunger strike on June 13.
All five activists were put in quarantine in noon on the same day.
Other activists – Siyamak Mirzayi, Kiyanush Aslani and Behman Sheykhi – joined the hunger strike in Tehran jail on June 14, bringing the number of striking activists to eight. The hunger strike is the only way for political prisoners to make their voices heard.
Abbas Lesani is a famous rights activist who has been advocating for constitutional rights of Azerbaijani Turks in Iran, including the right to use mother tongue.
Announced a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International, Lesani was sentenced to 15-year jail term in 2019 on trumped-up charges, including on charges including “spreading propaganda against the system”. He has held several hunger strikes in the Ardabil Prison where he has been held since 2019.
Lesani is the author of the book “Ozgurluk Harayi” (Shout for Freedom), which includes a collection of articles, speeches, poems, interviews, and his letters from prison that has been published by Azerbaijani activists.
Yusif Kari is serving a two-year jail term in Ardabil prison.
Iran’s Azerbaijani Turks, also known as Iranian Azerbaijanis (Azeris), are the largest minority group in Iran making up around 30 percent of its population. They have been struggling to protect their cultural rights and preserve their national identity despite Tehran’s attempts to stifle dissent and jail their activists. Of special importance for Azerbaijani Turks is the right to access education in their mother tongue.
