ranian security forces arrested Azerbaijani civil rights activist and lawyer Yilmaz Mehralibeiglo on Monday morning in northwestern Jolfa using a deceptive phone call to his mother.
Security agents called Mehralibeiglo’s mother, identifying themselves as “health officials,” and asked her to visit a health center in Shoja Kandi village for medical follow-up, according to the Association for Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran.
The agents insisted she bring her son along. When mother and son arrived at the center, plainclothes officers arrested Mehralibeiglo.
Following the arrest, security forces raided the lawyer’s home and conducted an extensive search.
They confiscated his laptop, books, and handwritten materials.
Mehralibeiglo graduated with a law degree from Payame Noor University in Marand. He is a member of the East Azerbaijan Bar Association.
The lawyer had previously faced pressure from the Tabriz Intelligence Office due to his advocacy for Azeri rights and support for political prisoners in the region.
He had been banned from practicing law.
Iranian Security Forces Arrest Azeri Civil Rights Lawyer Yilmaz Mehralibeiglo
