The Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights (A.O.H.R) strongly condemns the judicial rulings issued by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Abadan against five Ahwazi Arab cultural activists and poets from the city of Fallahiye. The defendants were sentenced to 3 months and 1 day of imprisonment (suspended for 2 years) solely for their peaceful cultural expression and Arabic poetry recitations.
Identities of the Convicted:
* Amin Nezhadbachai (Al-Askarawi) (23 years old) – Poet from Oushar village, Fallahiye.
* Fadil Khanafireh
* Khalil Shoorabi
* Youssef Asakereh
* Moslem Khedirawi
Legal Qualification and International Violations:
Charging cultural figures with "propaganda against the system" for sharing poetry on social media and at social gatherings constitutes a direct criminalization of free expression. A.O.H.R bases its legal objection on the following international standards:
* International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR):
* Article 19: Guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds through any media, including art and literature.
* Article 27: Protects the right of linguistic and cultural minorities to enjoy their own culture and use their own language without discrimination.
* Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):
* Articles 19 & 27: Protects freedom of opinion and expression, and the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community.
* Iranian Constitutional Violations:
* Article 23: Prohibits the investigation of beliefs (prohibition of inquisition).
* Article 168: Mandates public trials with jury presence for political and press offenses—a provision systematically ignored by Revolutionary Courts.
The Alahwazi Organization for Human Rights (A.O.H.R) demands the immediate and unconditional annulment of these sentences and an end to the judicial harassment of Ahwazi poets and intellectuals.