Iran has jailed another Azerbaijani activist over the anti-government protest held in drought-stricken Khuzestan region in summer.
Mohammad Moradi has been sentenced to three months in jail and 74 lashes on the charge of “disrupting public order by creating chaos and participating in illegal protest rallies” by 111 branches of Tabriz criminal court.
Another Azerbaijani activist who had participated in the same protest, Shahrooz Barzgar, has been fined 50,000,000 Rials (Over 1,000$) on the charge of “harming the police”. Shahrooz Barzgar has been cleared of charges of “harming the police” and “disrupting public order”.
Mohammad Moradi and Shahrooz Barzgar were arrested by the Iranian security forces in Tabriz on July 26, July 24, and were released from Tabriz Central Prison on July 31, August 11 on bail pending trial respectively.
On July 15, protests were held in dozens of towns and cities in Khuzestan province, which has a large ethnic Arab population. The protests in Khuzestan and other provinces including Isfahan, Lorestan, Eastern Azerbaijan (Tabriz), Tehran, and Karaj were initially against the clean water shortage in the region but later were expanded to cover larger socio-economic issues such as poverty and environmental and racial problems.
Protests were held in Iran’s Azerbaijani-populated northern regions in support of protests in Khuzestan.
According to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), six protesters were killed and at least 171 were arrested during violent protests in Khuzestan.
