Azerbaijani poets do not want to go into details of their imprisonment in Iran

Young Azerbaijani poets Farid Hussein and Shahriyar Alizadeh, who were in prison in Iran for four months, held a press conference today. 

They were arrested on May 2 in Iran, where we arrived at the poetry festival. On September 4, they were released as suddenly, as suddenly they were arrested. Their two-week avoiding meeting with the press, they explained  by the "need to stay at home" and visits of  many people.

Both young men spoke only in general about their imprisonment in Iran, avoiding the disclosure of details.

However, they noted that  they were innocent and did not doubt that the Azerbaijani government will release them. They thanked President Ilham Aliyev for liberation. As for the charges,  they said that  they had not received special permission to meet with writers. It turns out that Iran has a rule, according to which the intention to establish a national-cultural communication (meetings with Iranian writers fit this concept)  requires special permission. However, the poets did not know about it.

A poet  Bahram Surgyun who invited to Iran  the Azeri writers  was exiled for three years from Tabriz to another part of the country. As for damages for wrongful arrest, poets  think it is pointless to ask Iran for compensation. It seemed that the poets  concealed something. However, it is not clear they did not want to talk, or they did not speak under the pressure of  power structures. -05C06--