The attack took place last week a day after Obali left Azerbaijan for the US. Obali and his son were brutally beaten by six persons in a hotel in Santa Clara, according to GunAZ TV’s Telegram page.
As a result of the offensive, the political activist and his son Deniz have been hospitalised with multiple serious injuries.
GunAz TV and Obali’s brother Araz Obali said the body of the dissident was almost entirely in bruises, including on his face, arms, and legs.
“There is no danger to his life. The general diagnosis is that the fingers of his right hand are broken. He can hardly feel his hands and feet. He also suffered serious injuries to his head and eyes,” said Araz Obali.
Obali said he knows who the assailants are but did not specify the information.
California police have reportedly detained the culprits.
Multiple analysts claim Iran to be behind the heinous attack since Obali is known for his adamant critics of Tehran’s regime, including its discrimination against ethnic Azerbaijani residents of the country.
The Gunaz TV channel led by Obali has been operating since 2014. With its headquarters in Chicago, the satellite TV channel primarily highlights the human rights violations in Iran. The social and political welfare of the Azerbaijani-origin residents of the Islamic Republic has been a key focus of the channel.
In the meantime, today marks the anniversary of the Khordad uprising in Iran. In 2006, the uprising, which took place in the ethnic Azerbaijani-populated Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil, Zanjan, Tarem, Miana, Maragha, Sulduz, Gushachay, and other cities of Iran, turned into a million-strong demonstration.
It followed a publication of an insulting cartoon by Tehran’s regime in the official newspaper “Iran” depicting the local Azerbaijani Turks, who make up more than 35 million people in the country, as insects.
This incident stirred mass protests. During the 10-day protests, thousands of Azerbaijanis were arrested by the Iranian authorities, and more than a hundred were killed.
Caliber.Az
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