Amnesty International: Azerbaijanis Arrested in Lake Protests
URGENT ACTION
Around 70 Iranian Azerbaijanis were reportedly arrested on 2 April
during peaceful demonstrations in Tabriz,
and about 20 others in Oromieh, north-western Iran. The
protesters were calling for Lake
Oromieh
to be saved, as it is at risk of drying out due to dam building. Most have been
released but the whereabouts of at least five protesters remain unknown.
The demonstrations took place in Tabriz, Oromieh
and reportedly other cities where Iranian Azerbaijanis live, calling on the
Iranian authorities to remove dams on rivers feeding Lake Oromieh
(also spelt Urmia, Urumieh,
Oroumiye) which is at risk of drying. Similar to
protests in previous years, the protesters brought glasses of water and poured
them into the rivers feeding the lake or the lake itself. They also carried
banners with slogans such as “Break down dams and let water flow into the Lake Urmia”, “Lake
Urmia has no water in it and [if] Azerbaijan does
not wake up now, it will be too late” and “Long live Azerbaijan”.
The
demonstration in Tabriz
took place by the Talkheh River
(also called Aji Chai)
where plain-clothed police and armed forces arrested up to 70 people and
injured many. Those still in detention in Tabriz
are said to include Habib Pourvali,
Jalil Alamdar Milani, Ali Salimi and Sa’id Siyami. In Oromieh, the protest took
place in a park in the city where up to 20 people were reportedly arrested
including Sa’id Khizirlou.
Most of those arrested are believed to have been released within 24 to 48
hours. The whereabouts of those still detained are unknown.
PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Persian, English or your own language:
- Calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally
release Habib Pourvali, Jalil Alamdar Milani,
Ali Salimi, Sa’id Siyami and Sa’id Khizirlou and any other detained protesters, if they were
arrested in connection with the peaceful expression of their views or
participation in a peaceful gathering, as they would be prisoners of conscience;
- Urging the authorities to immediately disclose their whereabouts and
to ensure that they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment and have
access to a lawyer, their families and any medical treatment they might
require;
- Urging the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of
expression, association and assembly in Iran.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 16 MAY 2011 TO:
Head of
East Azerbaijan Province Judiciary
Hojjatoleslam Sharifi,
Judiciary of East Azerbaijan,
Central Complex,
Beginning of Vali-Asr Hill,
Tabriz, East Azerbaijan 5157733135,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 009841133201109
Salutation: Dear Sir
Head of
West Azerbaijan Province Judiciary
Hojjatoleslam Sayed
Mohammad Ali Mousavi
Judiciary of East Azerbaijan
Enghelab Square,
Oromieh, West
Azerbaijan Province,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-ag.ir
Salutation: Dear Sir
And
copies to:
Secretary General, High Council for Human Rights
Mohammad Javad Larijani
High Council for Human Rights
[Care of] Office of the Head of the Judiciary, Pasteur St., Vali
Asr Ave. south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737,Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@humanrights-iran.ir (subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)
Salutation: Dear Sir
Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your
country. Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the
above date.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Lake Oromieh is a
salt lake in north-western Iran.
The lake is situated between the Iranian provinces of East
Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan.
It is the largest lake in the Middle East and
the third largest salt water lake on earth. More than 40 dams have been built
over 13 rivers that feed the lake and the recent draught, which started in
1999, has significantly decreased the annual amount of water the lake receives.
This in turn has increased the salinity of its water which may lead to an
ecological disaster in the region.
Iranian Azerbaijanis speak a Turkic language and are mainly Shi’a Muslims. As the largest minority in Iran, they make
up 25-30 per cent of the population; they live mainly in the north and
north-west of the country and in Tehran.
Although generally well integrated into Iranian society, in recent years they
have increasingly called for greater cultural and linguistic rights, including
the implementation of their constitutional right to education in Azerbaijani
Turkic. Article 15 of Iran’s Constitution states that
Persian is the official language of Iran and that “official documents,
correspondence, and texts, as well as textbooks, must be in this language and
script.” It adds that “the use of regional and tribal languages in the
press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools,
is allowed in addition to Persian.”
A small minority want Iranian Azerbaijani provinces to break away from Iran and join
with the Republic
of Azerbaijan. In recent
years the authorities have grown increasingly suspicious of Iran’s
minorities, many of which are situated in border areas, and have accused foreign
powers such as the USA
and the UK
of stirring unrest among them. Those who seek to promote Azerbaijani cultural
identity and linguistic rights are often charged with vaguely worded offences
such as “acting against state security by promoting pan-Turkism”.
Both before, and particularly since, the disputed presidential election
in June 2009, the Iranian authorities have severely restricted freedom of
expression in Iran,
arresting journalists (of whom scores are believed to remain in detention),
imposing restrictions on the use of the internet, including social networking
sites, and shutting down newspapers. Demands by ethnic minority rights
activists for greater rights have, for many years, been suppressed. This
pattern continues in the context of a wide and generalized suppression of most
forms of dissent over government policy.
In February 2010, Iran accepted several recommendations to guarantee
freedom of expression and press activities made by other states as part of a
review of its human rights record before the UN Human Rights Council in the
framework of the Universal periodic review (see paragraph 90, recommendations
52-58 at http://www.upr-info.org/IMG/pdf/A_HRC_WG-6_7_L-11_Iran.pdf) but
rejected other recommendations calling for an end to measures such as
harassment and arbitrary arrest of writers, journalists and bloggers. It
appears that, despite such public commitments, in practice, the Iranian
authorities are continuing to disregard their human rights obligations relating
to freedom of expression. Iran
also rejected recommendations to take all appropriate measures to end all forms
of discrimination and harassment against persons belonging to religious,
ethnic, linguistic and other minorities (see paragraph 92).
At the beginning of March 2010, a wave of arrests of human rights
defenders took place. Students, journalists and political activists have
also continued to be targeted since the start of the year, and arrests have
expanded to include lawyers, clerics, members of Iran’s
religious and ethnic minorities such as the Baha’is, Kurds and Azerbaijanis,
and those with family links to members of banned groups.