The upper level of Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal doubles the original 8 years prison sentence of one of the most prominent South Azerbaijani popular movement leaders, Abbas Lisani.

The Ardabil Appeal Tribunal which was presided over by the former Prosecutor Nasser Atabati and current Chief Justice of Ardabil Provincial Court outrageously doubled the sentence of Abbas Lisani to 15 years. The Chief Justice Nasser Atabati was the prosecutor of Mr. Lisani’s matter at the lowere Tribunal where he was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment.

Abbas Lisani also is convicted to 1 year of Prison by the Tabriz Branch of Islamic Revolutionary Tribunal which sums up his sentence to total of 16 years imprisonment.

The harsh sentence has been delivered to Mr. Lesani and his lawyer today, on Tuesday, October 1st, 2019.

In the reasons for decision, it is ordered that Mr. Lisani was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and two years of exile on charges of “forming a group intended to disturb the security of the country” and five years imprisonment pursuant to “Action Against National Security” and from previous charges of ” incitement to the Turks of Western Azerbaijan Province.”

The upper court indicated that it considered the following “evidence” in reaching the decision: “inciting and encouraging the Turks in Azerbaijan by lecturing and interviewing with the media”; “Forming, administering, and joining the GAMAJ “;” Speeches aimed at disrupting national security “and” Propaganda against the system through the publication of derogatory material through interviews with the assemblies, the mass media of aiming to oppose the system as a whole.”

The appeal court of this prominent Azerbaijani leader was held on Monday, September 5, 2009 with the presence of his lawyers Bilal Mozafari and Mehmet Shahbazzadeh. In the court, Abbas Lisani refused to speak in Farsi and instead submitted his defense in Azerbaijani Turkish which described the criminal proceedings “a predetermined scenario of Ettelaat detectives ”

Mr. Lisani rejected all the charges and allegations and demanded a public trial. He stated that no whether him around or not the Azerbaijani Popular Movement will succeed and justice will soon prevail.
Mr. Lesani was also sentenced to one year’s imprisonment in the appeals court of the Azerbaijan East Province province, where he was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of exile to Yazd located in central Iran.