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| Actions in support of Azerbaijan in Iran (2020) | |
|---|---|
| Part of Second Nagorno-Karabakh War | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Iranian_Azerbaijanis_supporting_Azerbaijan.jpg) July 2020. A family holding a flag to show support for Azerbaijan in Tabriz. | |
| Date | 2020 |
| Location | |
Actions in support of Azerbaijan in Iran — support rallies for Azerbaijan, actions and demonstrations against Iran and Armenia by Iranian Azerbaijanis after the Battle of Tovuz and the Second Karabakh War in 2020.
Demonstrations were prevented in several cities. The security forces intervened in more than ten city, broke up the action and arrested its participants. The participants of the action showed their support for the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan and shouted slogans against Armenia and Iran. Hundreds of detained citizens included women, elderly and children. Many of them faced violence during their detention. Some of them were tortured and beaten when the demonstrations were broken up, while others were in prison. Sajjad Colani, who is visually impaired, was beaten and his nose was broken during his arrest. Fatma Ibrahimzade, detained in Tabriz, was interrogated and tortured in front of her 13-year-old daughter Kovsar Nemati. 74-year-old Parviz Siyabi, who was arrested in Ardabil, was beaten in prison. Most of the participants of the action were also subjected to flogging. According to human rights defenders Jala Tabrizli and Sahin Khiyavli, the purpose of the courts in imposing this punishment was to humiliate the honor of national activists.
In October, Amnesty International expressed concern over the large-scale arrest of Azerbaijani national activists in various cities in Iran and demanded their unconditional release. A group of Iranian Azerbaijanis feminists issued a statement about the Karabakh conflict and demanded the implementation of UN resolutions and an end to the occupation in order to ensure peace. 100 Azerbaijani cinematographers living in Iran issued a statement of support for the Azerbaijani incorporation of Karabakh. 669 Iranian Azerbaijani poets, writers and scientists living in Iran made a statement in support of Azerbaijan under the organization of South Azerbaijan Union of Poets and Writers. The Azerbaijan Student Movement also issued a statement of support for Azerbaijan. The statement of the Student Movement was signed by various student organizations, magazines and associations established by Iranian Azerbaijanis operating in universities located in cities such as Tabriz, Urmia, Gilan, Zanjan, Ardabil, and Tehran.
On October 14, 2021, human rights defenders living in the Republic of Azerbaijan appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee , Amnesty International and Iran regarding the arrest of Iranian Azerbaijanis activists. They strongly condemned the use of physical force, torture, and inhumane treatment by security forces, denouncing their arrest as a violation of human rights, and called for their immediate release.