Continued Ethnic Suppression in Iran; Two Brothers Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Advocating Use of Local Languages

Two brothers in Ardabil have been sentenced to a combined 5 years in prison by the Ardabil Revolutionary Court for advocating the use of local and ethnic languages. This occurs while sources indicate the two brothers were denied access to legal counsel, and the court president did not even allow them to defend themselves.

An informed source stated that Ali and Reza Vatheghi Kaledarag, two Iranian Turkic activists who were arrested by security forces at their workplace in late Khordad, were sentenced in recent days by Judge Mahdavi-Rad, head of the first branch of the Ardabil Revolutionary Court, on charges of what was described as “conspiracy to commit crimes against national security” and “propaganda activities against the system,” to 3 and 2 years in prison respectively.

This informed source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Voice of America that Ali and Reza Vatheghi were denied access to legal counsel during the court session, and despite rejecting all charges against them, the court president did not permit these two brothers to defend themselves.

Based on available information, Ali and Reza Vatheghi were arrested on Wednesday, June 21, when Ministry of Intelligence agents raided their workplace, beating them in the process. They were initially taken to the Ministry of Intelligence detention facility and, after six days, transferred to Ardabil Central Prison. On June 27, Ali Vatheghi was temporarily released upon posting a bail of 100 million tomans, and Reza Vatheghi was released by posting bail of 120 million tomans until the completion of legal proceedings.

It is noteworthy that during the arrest, after searching the workplace and damaging some equipment, security forces confiscated a number of personal items belonging to these civil activists, including their computers and mobile phones.

This informed source, referring to the fact that Iranian courts are selective and sentences are predetermined, told Voice of America: “The Vatheghi brothers were convicted solely because they seek to attain their natural rights in accordance with Article 15 of the Constitution—namely, the use of local and ethnic languages in press and mass media and the teaching of their literature in schools, alongside Persian.”

This is not the first time an Iranian Turkic activist has been arrested by Iranian security forces and faced prison sentences. Abbas Lisani is one of dozens of Iranian Turkic civil activists who, following arrest, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms and is currently serving his sentence in Tabriz Prison.