Reports indicate that Ali Babaei, an Azerbaijani national activist, has been detained by security forces. There is no precise information about the exact time of his arrest, but sources close to the case suggest that the detention likely took place on Thursday or Friday of last week.

Ali Babaei had previously been the target of an assassination attempt. While traveling on the Tabriz–Qushachay road, he was subjected to an attempted physical elimination: two passenger vehicles near the village of Goy-Tappeh deliberately caused several staged collisions in an effort to force his car into a ravine, and one of the attackers also opened fire. The attempt failed, and Babaei survived unharmed.

This Azerbaijani national movement activist had earlier, along with 13 other activists, been sentenced to a total of more than 89 years in prison. According to court rulings, Ali Babaei was sentenced to 2 years and 9 months in prison on charges of membership in the so-called “Demokrats” group, and 3 years and 7 months’ imprisonment on charges of assembly and collusion against the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran.