Amnesty International/London

Dear Mrs Harrison,

I would like to provide you the required information in the format below regarding the Clergy: Hojjet-ul-Islam Ezimi Qedimi, who is currently interned in Tebriz Prison. Thank you for taking interest, and as I get more information, I will trouble you by keeping you informed.

Boyuk Resuloglu

Chairperson

For and on behalf of

The Committee for the Defence of the World Azerbaijanis

1.      Age:                32

2.      Marital Status: Married with two children: daughter 5 yrs and son 3 yrs

3.      Place of Birth: Born in Verziqan near Tebriz

4.      Has been interned twice

a)      05 August 2004: together with his fellows, he took part in the famous Qarabagh Mosque (formerly Sarcheshme Mosque) protest sittings; was arrested and interned for 10 days and was then exiled for two years into the religious city of Qum (Qom) in Iran

b)      Without permission, he went to Tebriz in 05 August 2005 to take part in the gatherings of the Baghir Khan Mausoleum but was arrested and he is still in prison.

5.      After being arrest last time round, first he was interned in the security prison and was interrogated in a court specially designed for interrogating clergies. According to our latest information, now he is in the army prison and is being prosecuted by the revolutionary court. However, in this respect we do not yet have precise information yet.

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Ann Harrison wrote:

Dear Mr Resuloglu,

Thank you for your e-mail about the events in Tabriz on 5 August.

Can you please confirm that Hojjatoleslam Qedimi is now released from detention (I assume that when he called you by telephone, he was released). Was he released on bail?

Do you know which court he is facing charges before (eg Revolutionary Court, Special Court for the Clergy)?

Do you have any other background details about him eg his age, family details, any previous arrests/trials etc?

Were any of the other people at the mausoleum injured during the police attacks? If so, do you have their names?

Thanks for your help with this.

With best wishes,

Ann Harrison
Researcher
East Gulf Team
Amnesty International

I would like to bring to your attention an event in recent days. Southern Azerbaijan was commemorating the 100 years anniversary of the Constitution Movement on 05 August 2005 and therefore people were gathered around the mausoleum of Baghir Khan in Tebriz, who was regarded then and now as a national hero. The participants were subjected to relentless attacks of the police and were dispersed through beating them by batons. In these events, Mr Ezimi Qedimi, a priest calling people for peace and harmony, has been arrested and now he is confronted with accusations as described below.

We are sending you the translation of the news, which was sent to us, together with the source document.

Hojjet-ul-Islam Ezimi Qedimi informed us of his safety last night at 20.21 p.m. during a telephone conversation.