Former Separatist Group Leader Abducted In Turkey, Sent Back To Iran

ICBPS- The Islamic Republic of Iran has abducted another dissident in Turkey, and sent back to Iran.

Turkish authorities handed over the former leader of a separatist group [Al-Ahwaz Arab Movement] to Iran’s security agents.

On Friday, Turkish authorities handed over to Iran, Habib Chaab (also known as Asyoud). Habib was reportedly arrested in Turkey.

In a statement that Iran’s intelligence agents abducted Habib after “luring” him to Turkey. Iran intelligence services have allegedly lured the dissident to Turkey, and abducted him. 

Turkey and a third country were also involved in the abduction, according to Arab groups.

Some sources have identified the third country as Qatar, as some others say Ankara has handed over Habib to Tehran in exchange for two PKK leaders. Still, no independent sources have confirmed the claims so far.

The Arab separatist groups seek a separate state inside Iran’s oil-rich southwestern Khuzestan province.

Ankara has deported dozens of Iranian activists and asylum seekers, just 33 Iranian Kurdish activists to Tehran last December, Al Arabiya quoted Kurdistan Human Rights Network.

In recent years, dozens of Iranian dissidents have been arrested or abducted in neighboring countries and taken to Iran.

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In Agust, Iranian state-run media declared that security forces arrested US-based dissident Jamshid Sharmahd.

Ruhollah Zam, the son of reformist cleric Mohammad Ali Zam, living in exile in France, was arrested last year in mysterious circumstances.

Early July, the Islamic Revolutionary Court handed out an unjust death sentence to Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam for alleged incited violence during the 2017-2018 Iran Protests.

Islamic Court has considered 13 counts of bogus charges together as instances of corruption on earth and therefore passed the capital punishment: Judiciary spokesperson Esmaili

In Iran, “Corruption on Earth” is the charge often used in cases allegedly involving espionage or attempts to overthrow the regime, which could carry the death penalty.

IRGC released a statement saying it had arrested Zam three days after Zam left France on October 11, 2019.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the illegal kidnap and arrest.

Iran is the country ranks 173 of 180 in RSF’s annual world press freedom ranking, three places lower than the previous year. IRI has been one of the most repressive regimes towards journalists for the past 41 years, with at least 860 journalists and citizen reporters imprisoned or executed since the Islamists took power in 1979.

Ruhollah Zam ran an alleged popular anti-government forum Amadnews website, which Tehran accuses of inciting the nationwide protests of 2017-18. As a whistleblower, the news forum, which had around 1.4m followers on encrypted messaging app Telegram, shared videos of Iran protests, and secret information of Iranian officials.

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Weeks ago, Iranian dissident Mehdi Amin was found murdered on Wednesday at his residence in southern Ontario.

The victim’s body was found at a home in Markham, Ontario, 30 km (18.6 miles) north of Toronto, when police were called for a well-being check around 2:30 p.m, according to the initial news.

Friends of the Iranian dissident Mehdi Amin who spoke to the news agencies said he was a well-known Iranian dissident and activist.

In 2019, Masoud Molavi Vardanjani, the former intelligence operative for Iran before he moved to Turkey and launched social media accounts exposing corruption involving Iranian officials, was assassinated in Istanbul.

The United States believes Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security was directly involved in the killing of an Iranian dissident last November in Turkey, Reuters quoted U.S. senior administration official.

With a long history of killing dissidents abroad, nowhere is safe for the Iranian diaspora anymore unless a global consensus is formed against the Islamic Republic currently occupying Iran.

Report By ICBPS Team.

The Institute of Capacity Building for Political Studies (ICBPS) is a non-governmental research institute focusing on political studies, international security, and international relations.