Nardaran Elder Natiq Kerimov released from custody

In Azerbaijan, Natiq Kerimov, the Elder of the village of Nardaran, accused of treason, has been released from prison and placed under house arrest.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Kerimov was detained in Nardaran on January 6. The Baku court ruled to arrest him for four months. The National Security Service (NSS) of Azerbaijan accused the Elder of spying for a foreign country.

Today, the Sabail District Court of Baku has satisfied the petition of his defence to replace Kerimov's arrest for the house arrest and released him from custody, the advocate of the accused Eyub Alekperov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He expressed satisfaction with the decision of the court. To the question whether Kerimov has pled guilty, given the earlier data widespread by the media that the Elder has partially admitted his guilt, the advocate replied in the negative. According to Alekperov, regarding the recognition of his guilt, the media had misunderstood Kerimov.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.