Baku: oppositionist Pyunkhan Kerimli sentenced to six years in prison

Pyunkhan Kerimli, an oppositionist deported from Germany, has been sentenced to six years in prison; he refused to plead guilty of drug possession. While in Germany, he criticized Azerbaijani authorities, has been convicted on trumped-up charges, Tezekhan Miralamli, his father and human rights defender, has suggested.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Pyunkhan Kerimli, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), who was deported to Azerbaijan from Germany in November 2021, was arrested this January on charges of drug dealing.

His father asserts that law enforcers had beaten his son up and planted drugs on him.

"Pyunkhan Kerimli said that he was being persecuted for political reasons. In Germany, he continued acting in defence of human rights in Azerbaijan, took part in protests in order to draw international attention to the problems of political prisoners in his country," Djavad Djavadly, an advocate, has stated.

Even before the verdict was pronounced, Pyunkhan Kerimli told his advocate that in the event of a guilty verdict, he would go on a protest hunger strike, Mr Djavadly has explained.

Apart from Kerimli, three other activists deported from Germany (Djafar Mirzoev, Malik Rzaev and Mutallim Orudjev), who were returned to Azerbaijan in the fall of 2021, have been arrested on charges of drug dealing.

Kerimli is being prosecuted for his political activities, Tezekhan Miralamli, a member of the NGO "Defence Line", believes.