New Charges Against Siamak Mirzaei, Azerbaijani Civil Activist, Before End of His Seven-Year Prison Sentence

Siamak Mirzaei, an imprisoned Turkic (Azerbaijani) activist, faced new charges of “propaganda against the system” after being summoned to Evin Courthouse.

The Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners reported on Wednesday, June 26, that Siamak Mirzaei, a civil activist, was tried on the charge of “propaganda against the system” by the prosecutor of Branch 6 of Evin Courthouse after being transferred there, and a bail of 30 million tomans was set for him.

An informed source told the Campaign: “Telephone contact from prison with Mr. Abbas Lesani and other national activists” and “hunger strike in prison” are the two reasons for the charges presented by the prosecutor to Mr. Mirzaei.

Mr. Mirzaei faced the new charge of “propaganda against the system” while his three-year sentence is set to end on Friday, June 27.

Siamak Mirzaei was arrested on July 15, 2016, by personnel from the Information Office in Parsabad Moghan, Ardabil Province, and transferred to Ward 209 in Evin Prison. After completing his interrogation period, he was transferred to the general ward of Evin Prison on November 13 of the same year.

This civil activist was sentenced by Judge Hasani, head of the Baharestan Revolutionary Court, to ten years in prison and two years of exile to Tabas City on the charge of “forming a group and association with the intention of disrupting national security.” This sentence was reduced to three years in prison and one year of exile to Tabas City by Branch 36 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals.

According to an Amnesty International report in 2018, more than seven thousand people, including protest participants, students, journalists, women’s rights activists, environmental activists, labor activists, and advocates for ethnic rights and religious minorities in Iran, were arrested and hundreds were sentenced to prison.

Source: Voice of America