Four Azerbaijani Turk activists - Abbas Lesani, Ali Kheirjou, Yousef Kari, and Behzad Dashti - have been sentenced to a combined total of 40 years in discretionary prison (habs-e ta’zir) by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Mohammad-Reza Amouzad.
According to the ruling, Abbas Lesani received a 15-year prison sentence, along with the confiscation of his mobile phone. Behzad Dashti and Yousef Kari were each sentenced to 10 years, while Ali Kheirjou received a five-year prison sentence.
As detailed by Abbas Lesani’s Telegram channel, Lesani was sentenced to 10 years for “forming and leading a group to disrupt national security” and five years for “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security,” along with the forfeiture of his mobile phone.
Yousef Kari and Behzad Dashti were each sentenced to five years for “membership in a group to disrupt national security” and five years for “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security.” Ali Kheirjou received five years for “assembly and collusion to commit crimes against national security.”
The hearing for the activists took place on May 30, 2026, at Branch 28. Lesani, Kheirjou, and Kari refused to attend the proceedings in protest against what they described as an “unfair judicial process.”
