Case against Nardaran elder Natiq Kerimov sent to court

Inglab Akhadov, the former Deputy Chairman of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, will appear in court as a defendant, accused of treason, together with Natiq Kerimov, an elder of the village of Nardaran. Their cases are combined and sent to the court.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 6, 2016, Natiq Kerimov was detained and accused of espionage for Iran. Oppositionists and human rights defenders of Azerbaijan treated the charge of espionage as absurd. On November 26, 2015, six weeks prior to the arrest of Natiq Kerimov, a special operation was carried out in Nardaran. As a result, mass riots occurred, and seven people were killed. After that, Azerbaijan started a campaign to prosecute believers, in particular, those supporting the movement "Muslim Unity".

Oktai Gyulalyev, the head of the Public Alliance "Azerbaijan without Political Prisoners", doubted the validity of the charges filed against Natiq Kerimov. According to Oktai Gyulalyev, Natiq Kerimov "is committed to the idea of the Azerbaijan's independence."

Furthermore, according to the human rights defender, Natiq Kerimov actively defended the rights of residents of Nardaran, but "rejected violence as a means to combat and prevented young people from involvement in illegal actions."

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