(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Sabina Mammadli
Iran has arrested some1,700 young people from Southern
Azerbaijan during the protests that began in September in the
country, Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Human
Rights Jala Tabrizli said.
She made the remarks at a roundtable discussion 'Scream of the
Lake Urimiya'.
Tabrizli, who hails from Iran's Tabriz city and currently lives
in France, noted that a young girl from the province was shot
during the protests.
'In total, around 2,000 to 3,000 Southern Azerbaijani activists
are arrested every year. The families of the arrested get
intimidated so that they don't reveal the names of young people to
the Human Rights Committee, which is us. We are represented in the
UN and can express our opinion without any hesitations,' she
said.
Further, she also stated that the lack of action on the issue of
drying of the Urmia Lake is a demonstration of discrimination
against Azerbaijanis. Noting that the majority of Urmia has dried
up, the rights activist stressed that 14 million people have to
move from there because of health danger.
Speaking about the problem of language, she emphasized the
inability of Azerbaijanis in Iran to use their native language.
'We are a nation there, not an ethnic minority. However, we can
not use our mother tongue there, and this offends us. Our children
can not be educated in their mother tongue. Our women are also
oppressed. Their rights are not recognized,' Tabrizli added.
The protests in Iranian cities are ongoing, prompted by the
death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, allegedly after
being beaten by Iran's morality police while in custody for
violating the strict hijab-wearing rules. Amini's death on
September 16 triggered mass protests in Iran several days
later.
Hijab was made mandatory for women in Iran shortly after the
country's 1979 revolution. Women, who break the strict dress code,
risk being arrested by Iran's morality police. Based on the dress
code, women are required to fully cover their hair in public and
wear long, loose-fitting clothes.
---
Follow us on Twitter
@azernewsaz
Tags: iran azerbaijanis protests urmia lake south azerbaijan
MENAFN02122022000195011045ID1105260152
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.