Afkham: Iran to lodge complaint with Azeri officials for mistreatment charges

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham voiced Tehran's concern about mistreatment of Iranian nationals by Azerbaijan's border guards, and underlined that the case is slated to be pursued through judicial channels. The Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman said that the Iranian Embassy in Baku is studying the reports it has received on the mistreatment of Iranians at Azeri entry and exit ports to lodge a protest with Baku officials to that end, the Iranian parliament's website reported on Monday. On Saturday, Iran’s Embassy in Azerbaijan dismissed the espionage charges pressed against an Iranian national by a Baku court as merely “groundless”. The Baku Court on Grave Crimes has recently sentenced Iranian citizen Bahram Fayyazi to 15 years in jail on spying charges. “The Baku Court on Grave Crimes should hear such cases in the presence of an authorized lawyer and the Iranian Embassy’s representative and naturally the Islamic Republic of Iran considers defending the Iranian national as its duty and it will seriously pursue this matter,” Head of the Iranian Embassy's Media Office Seyed Mohammad Ayatollahi said. In recent years, Baku has increasingly embarked on arresting Iranian and Azeri nationals on charges of spying for Iran without providing any corroborative evidence. Almost in all cases, the court hearings are held in behind-the-closed-doors sessions. Last month, Azerbaijan’s National Security Ministry arrested the Azeri journalist Parviz Hashemli on charges of being linked to Iran and arms smuggling, but Azeri and international circles attributed his arrest to his journalistic activities. Last year, 22 Azeri national were tried in an Azeri court on charges of plotting terrorist attacks and cooperation with Iran, but none of them admitted to the charges.