Abbas Lisani (born 18 February 1967, Ardabil province) is an Iranian Azerbaijani cultural activist in Iran.
Due to his involvement in national cultural activities, he has been incarcerated multiple times since 1997. In 2006 alone, he was tried four times within six months, sentenced to 30 months in prison, endured 50 lashes, and received a three-year exile. His participation in events such as the Babak Castle Congress in 2005, commemorating the anniversary of the Constitutional Revolution, ceremonies held at the tomb of Baqir Khan in Tabriz, and involvement in the National Uprising Day in May 2006 led to these consequences.
In the following years, he was repeatedly imprisoned, faced persecution, and was subjected to exile. Various international organizations, parties, and activists issued statements against his imprisonment. Since 2007, he has been declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. Several organizations and activists conducted signature campaigns and protest actions to secure his release from prison. He also undertook hunger strikes on multiple occasions to defend his rights and the rights of other prisoners.
In February 2023, he was released from Ardabil prison and exiled to the city of Yazd. However, he stated his innocence, and despite the exile order, he returned to Ardabil city.
Life
Early life and activities Abbas Asad oghlu Lisani was born in 1968 in Ardabil. He has faced multiple imprisonments since 1997 due to his involvement in national cultural activities. On 25 August 2003, he was arrested for participating in an event at Babak Castle and was released on 18 September 2003, after posting bail of 50 million rials.
On 22 June 2004, he was arrested for participating in a sit-in protest at Ardabil's Sarcheshmeh Mosque. Security forces attacked the mosque, covering his mouth and nose with a cloth until he lost consciousness. This assault resulted in multiple broken ribs, a damaged nose, a left lung, and a left kidney. He was held alone in an undisclosed location for two days, then brought to the 7th Branch of the Ardabil Revolutionary Court and detained for an additional month. Despite requesting medical attention and undertaking a hunger strike, his requests were denied. He was released on 22 July 2004, after posting bail of 200 million rials. Later, he was fined 800 thousand rials and sentenced to 15 lashes for "disturbing public order."
In 2005, he was arrested for participating in a ceremony held at the tomb of Baqir Khan in Tabriz, commemorating the anniversary of the Persian Constitutional Revolution. On 6 August, the 1st Branch of the Ardabil Revolutionary Court issued a verdict to exile Abbas Lisani to Khuzestan for a year. He was accused of promoting pan-Turkism, engaging in activities against national security, propagating against the system, and publishing a calendar in the Turkish language. Abbas Lisani appealed this decision to the appellate court. Initially, his case was referred to a higher court in Tehran. Later, it was returned to Kalibar for another court hearing. There, the court revoked the earlier decision of one-year exile and sentenced him to one year in prison.
2006–2014
On 27 May 2006, during the National Uprising Day in Ardabil, Abbas Lisani participated in a gathering that involved tens of thousands of people. Clashes erupted between police forces and protesters, leading to gunfire targeting the demonstrators. Numerous individuals sustained severe injuries, and at least 150 people were arrested. Despite attempts by the police to arrest Abbas Lisani during the incident, the protesters resisted, preventing his arrest. Later, on 3 June 2006, he was arrested for his participation in the National Uprising Day. Around 30 plainclothes officers forcibly entered his home without presenting an arrest warrant and physically assaulted Abbas Lisani in front of his family, including his children and spouse. Additionally, they confiscated books, mobile phones, a computer, and various video discs from his house. Until 7 June, there was no information provided about his whereabouts. However, on 7 June, after allowing him to speak with his family via telephone call, he disclosed that he was held in solitary confinement at Ardabil prison and had initiated a hunger strike. After 58 days of the hunger strike, he halted it on 30 July, after being granted permission to meet with his family.
In September 2006, there was a protest in front of the Ardabil court demanding the release of political prisoners. During this demonstration, several individuals, including Fazail Azizian, were arrested. Kubra Gurbanzade, who went to the prison to visit her spouse, was also detained because of her participation in the protest. Despite being three months pregnant, Kubra Gurbanzade's unjust detention led Fazail Azizian to start a hunger strike in protest. Other detainees joined the hunger strike in support of them. Despite being just four days away from his own release, Abbas Lisani began a hunger strike on 22 September, to support them. After Kubra Gurbanzade was released, the hunger strikers ceased their protest.
The day after his release, on 27 September 2006, Abbas Lisani was sentenced by the Ardabil court to 16 months in prison and 50 lashes for participating in the National Uprising Day. He filed an appeal against this decision on 26 October 2006. However, on 31 October 2006, Abbas Lisani was rearrested.
In March 2007, he was transferred to the 7th section of the prison, where arms and drug traffickers were detained, allegedly to exert pressure on him and the national activist Behruz Alizadeh. During his imprisonment, he faced constant harassment. Secret cameras were installed in his prison room, monitoring his every move. Harsh punishments were imposed on fellow inmates who communicated with or were associated with Abbas Lisani to isolate him. In May 2007, in a letter sent from prison, Abbas Lisani highlighted human rights abuses and repression related to the anniversary of the National Uprising Day, urging people to join in protest against these violations. On 4 March 2008, he was transferred from Ardabil prison to Yazd prison. On 10 September 2008, he participated in the iftar ceremony organized at Seyyad Mohammadian's house in the evening. 17 people were arrested during the raid on this party by the employees of Iran's special services. Abbas Lisani's wife and 3 children were among those arrested. He was released on 29 October 2008. In December 2009, at the funeral of Genghis Bakhtavar, Abbas Lisani and several people who participated in the funeral were beaten by Iranian security officials. Before the funeral, some Azerbaijani national activists were called by ettealaat officials and asked them not to participate in the funeral. After the funeral, Abbas Lisani was called and told that if he did not leave Tabriz, they would send his body to Ardabil.
In 2011 protests occurred in cities inhabited by Azerbaijani Turks against the drying of Lake Urmia. Following these protests, Abbas Lisani and other national activists were arrested in Ardabil. On 9 September 2011, Abbas Lisani was detained at his workplace after protests regarding Lake Urmia's ecological condition in Ardabil on 3 September. He began a hunger strike, citing the illegality of his detention. On 7 November 2011, he was released on bail of 100,000 US dollars according to the decision of the Ardabil Revolutionary Court.
2014–2017
On 20 February 2014, Azerbaijani national activists from various cities in Iranian Azerbaijan gathered at Akbar Abulzadeh's house in Ahvaz to commemorate International Mother Language Day. However, more than 100 activists who attended the event were arrested by Iranian security forces. Among those detained were Abbas Lisani, Saleh Molla Abbasi, Ibrahim Savalan, Ibrahim Nuri, Behzad Abdi, Akbar Abulzadeh, and Abbas Nazari, who were taken to Ettelaat prison. Some of them, including Abbas Lisani, were subjected to torture. Concerned about this, they wrote a letter to the prosecutor of at Ahvaz Judiciary.
In April 2015, the Ardabil Revolutionary Court sentenced Abbas Lisani to one year in prison for allegedly collaborating regularly with "separatist groups abroad and Gunaz TV" and discussing the necessity of a secular regime in an article, which led to charges of "propaganda against the regime."
In July 2015, around 300 Azerbaijani Turkish activists signed a statement in support of Uyghurs. Abbas Lisani, along with Hasan Demirci, Hasan Rashidi, Akbar Azad, and Abdulaziz Azimi Qadim, signed this statement urging Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Iranian legal authorities to address the issues faced by the Uyghur community in international courts.
On 22 July 2015, Abbas Lisani was arrested on his way from home to work. He was detained and later transferred to the 7th section of the Ardabil prison, where inmates detained on charges of narcotics and crimes were held. Upon his transfer, his access to designated outdoor areas for prisoners was restricted, the phones in the section were deactivated, and meeting with families was prohibited. On 25 July 2015, protesting against the violation of prisoners' rights and objecting to the transfer of detainees from the Ardabil region to Gilan, specifically to Heyran, Abbas Lisani began a hunger strike. On 26 July, special forces subjected Abbas Lisani in the 7th section of Ardabil prison to intimidation, threats, and physical abuse. They also assaulted two Baluchi-origin inmates who were supporting and defending Lisani. During his detention, threats of exile were directed at Abbas Lisani. In September 2015, as permission for a family visit was denied, Abbas Lisani initiated a hunger strike. Authorities threatened to transfer him to a remote prison if he didn't end the strike.
In 2015, after a children's program insulting Azerbaijanis in the program "Fitila" broadcast on the Iranian state TV channel, on 9 November 2015, Azerbaijani Turks started protest actions in various cities of Iran. To support the protests, Abbas Lisani also started a hunger strike in prison. After that, he was deported from Ardabil prison to Adilabad prison in Shiraz. Despite being exiled, he continued his hunger strike.
In December 2015, 1046 Turkish activists living in Iran and Iranian Azerbaijan signed a declaration of support against the massacre of Syrian Turkmen. Among those who signed the statement was Abbas Lisani.
In 2016, Yurysh Mehralibeyli, Huseyn Ali Mohammadi, Murtaza Muradpur, Rasul Razavi, and Abbas Lisani, who were detained in Tabriz prison and exiled to Shiraz prison, held a hunger strike from 19 to 21 February on the occasion of World Mother Language Day. They held this hunger strike as a protest against the lack of education in Azerbaijani Turkish in Iran.
On 18 May 2016 Abbas Lisani's prison term ended, but they did not release him. As a protest, Abbas Lisani started a hunger strike on 19 May. Later on the same day, Yurush Mehralibeyli, Rasul Razavi, Huseyn Alimohammadi, Murtaza Muradpour, Latif Hasani, and several national cultural activist who were detained in Tabriz Central Prison, Ardabil Prison and Rajayi-Sharh Prison in Karaj started a hunger strike and announced their support for Lisani. On 25 May 2016, he was temporarily released on bail.
On 7 November 2016 Abbas Lisani was again arrested in court and transferred to the central prison of Khiyav. The reason for his arrest was his speech at the wedding of national activist Aydın Zakiri. Meshkin's Revolutionary Court accused him of pan-Turkism and "propaganda against the regime" in this speech. Later, Abbas Lisani, who said that his arrest was unjustified, appealed to the appeals court. In 2017, the Ardabil appellate court annulled the verdict of the first court and acquitted well-known activist Abbas Lisani.