The leading members of the New South Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement, Latif Hasani, Ayet Mehrelibegli, Behbud Quluzade, Mahmud Fazli and Shehram Radmehr  are sentenced to 9 year in prison and were exiled to Rejayisher prison near Tehran.

Abdullah Sadiqi, Hamid Malikzade, Aziz Purvali, Huseyin Ronagi Maleki, Ali Jabbari, Shahrokh Zamani, Vahid Sheykhbegli, Mehdi Shafiq, Mehdi Kukhian are also jailed for peaceful  attempt to secure basic cultural and linguistic rights. Exact number of Azerbaijani prisoners is unknown.

Recently, Abbas Lesani of Ardabil has been sentenced to 8 years in prison  and 2 years exile, Kazim Safabakhsha has been senteneced to 13 years prison,  also Kiyanush Aslani to 5 years and Tovhid Amini to 9 years in prison merely for distributing some brochures calling the fascistic regime of Tehran to respect the Turks’ and other ethnics’ mother languages.