Editor-in-chief of Islamazeri.az sentenced in Azerbaijan

Today, in Azerbaijan, the Absheron District Court concluded the trial against Ramin Bairamov, the editor-in-chief of the website Islamazeri.az. The Court found him guilty of illegal purchase and possession of weapons and drugs and sentenced him to 1.5 years of imprisonment.

Ramin Bairamov and Arif Ganiev and Abgyul Suleimanov, two other activists of the "Islamic Party", were arrested on August 11, 2011, by officers from the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of Azerbaijan. The MNS accused them "of hostile activities against Azerbaijan, aiding and abetting a foreign state and its representatives, and incitement to riots, violation of public security and civil disobedience."

In the course of the investigation and at the trial, Ramin Bairamov rejected the charges and stated that he was being persecuted for publications on the website Islamazeri.az.

According to Ramil Mamedov, the lawyer of Ramin Bairamov, the public prosecutor asked the Court to sentence the editor-in-chief to 5 years of imprisonment. According to him, the issue of filing an appeal against the sentence is under consideration. The final decision will be made after consultation with the defendant.

Earlier, Elchin Namazov, ex-lawyer of Ramin Bairamov, claimed violation of the rights of his client. In particular, he has pointed out that the MNS' report on the Ramin Bairamov's arrest violated his presumption of innocence and also mentioned criminal activity for which no charges were filed.

The website Islamazeri.az continues its activities and places comments in defence of arrested persons. This Internet edition specializes on the dissemination of religious information, news about events in Azerbaijan and the Muslim countries. At the same time, the website publishes articles, speeches and comments of Iranian scholars on various aspects of Islam.