Additional Name(s): محسن عزیزی
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Iran
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Sufi
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Sentence: 3 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: February//2018
Date of Sentencing: June//2018
Current Status: Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Protesting Religious Freedom Conditions Religious Association
Nature of Charges: Illegal Assembly
Mohsen Azizi was imprisoned for his religious association and for protesting religious freedom conditions.
In February 2018, authorities arrested Azizi following a violent crackdown on people protesting the arrest of Nematollah Riahi. Riahi, a member of the Sufi Gonabadi Order, had come to Tehran earlier in February to participate in a sit-in protesting the house arrest of spiritual leader Noor Ali Tabandeh. Azizi was reportedly charged with "assembling and colluding to act against national security" (Art. 610 IPC). Azizi was reportedly denied access to a lawyer.
In June 2018, Azizi was reportedly sentenced to three years in prison.
United For Iran indicates that Azizi has been released; however, it is unclear under what circumstances.
Azizi was reportedly subjected to attacks and denied adequate medical care during his detention.
"Mohsen Azizi" United For Iran
"Iran: Over 200 Dervishes Convicted" Human Rights Watch
"Mass Conviction of Sufi Protesters “Unprecedented in Iran’s Judicial History” Center For Human Rights In Iran
"Iran: Crackdown on Dervish Minority" Human Rights Watch
"Clashes Between Police and Sufis Leave Five Dead" Iran Wire
"Six People Said Killed, 300 Arrests At Sufi Protest In Iran" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
"Clashes Highlight Tensions Between Dervishes And Iran's Establishment" Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)