Oppositionist Fuad Gakhramanly accuses Azerbaijani authorities of persecuting believers

At the trial in Baku, Fuad Gakhramanly, the deputy chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has claimed the falsification by the authorities of the "Nardaran case". According to him, the Azerbaijani authorities put pressure on believers, who oppose arbitrariness of politicians and corruption.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 8, 2015, Fuad Gakhramanly was detained and charged with inciting residents of the Nardaran village to extremist activity.

"I've just criticized the authorities on my Facebook page. I was arrested for my thoughts. The authorities prosecute people for their beliefs," Fuad Gakhramanly said.

At the trial, defendant Shamil Abdulaliev has also addressed the court. After the events in the village of Nardaran, he cannot walk without crutches. According to him, 15 days before the special operation in Nardaran, he "came to the village to a mourning ceremony on the occasion of Muharram (the first month of the Muslim calendar, one of the four sacred months, referred to in the Koran, note of the "Caucasian Knot")."

According to the defendant, on the other day, he was summoned to the personnel department of the Customs Committee and asked to sign a document on his dismissal. That was caused by his trip to Nardaran, the defendant claimed.

Aiten Mamedova, a legal observer of the newspaper "Azadlyg", the defendant has called the accusations ungrounded.

According to Nemat Kerimli, an advocate of defendant Etibar Ismayilov, "all defendants claim being tortured."

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