Iranian Baloch activist risks being extradited to Iran after arrest in Turkey

An Iranian Baloch activist risks being extradited to Iran and facing execution after he was arrested by the Turkish intelligence services in Ankara on Thursday.

Abdollah Bozorgzadeh was arrested outside his home early Thursday in Ankara by agents from Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT), his brother Habibollah Sarbazi said.

“At 2 a.m. on Thursday, Turkish undercover agents knocked on Abdollah’s door and told him a vehicle had hit his parked vehicle. They then handcuffed him as soon as he stepped outside,” Sarbazi told Al Arabiya English.

The agents did not have a court order for the arrest, Sarbazi said, adding that Bozorgzadeh has been taken to a deportation centre in Ankara.

There is a “high possibility” that Bozorgzadeh has been arrested at Tehran’s request, Sarbazi told Al Arabiya English.

Iran protests. (AP)

Bozorgzadeh was sentenced to 11 years in prison for participating in peaceful protests before leaving Iran, and deporting him could lead to him receiving a longer prison sentence, or even the death penalty, said Sarbazi.

Bozorgzadeh, a Baloch activist from the city of Iranshahr in the south-eastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, was arrested in June 2017 for taking part in protests in support of rape victims in the city.

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He was temporarily released on bail in September 2018 and later sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Bozorgzadeh was subject to torture during his time in prison and was forced to confess to things he had not done, Sarbazi told Al Arabiya English.