Human rights defenders treat activist Pyunkhan Kerimli’s sentence as revenge for criticizing Azerbaijani authorities

Human rights activists believe that the verdict to activist Pyunkhan Kerimli, who was expelled from Germany, is intended to ish him for criticizing the authorities of Azerbaijan and is aimed at intimidating other political migrants abroad.

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 in January on the charge of drug trafficking. On July 27, a court sentenced him to 6 years of imprisonment. The activist intends to declare a hunger strike in protest against the verdict.

According to Vakhid Kerimov, a father of the sentenced activist, his son is being kept in a cell where there are 18 prisoners for ten beds, and people “have to sleep in turns.”

Zafar Akhmedov, a member of the human rights organization “Line of Defence”, pointed out the unlawfulness of the verdict.

“Drug trafficking is an accusation that is often used against activists who are undesirable persons for the authorities ... Pyunkhan Kerimli was not caught red-handed while selling drugs, that is, there are no signs of a crime,” Zafar Akhmedov explained.

The human rights defender reported about the arrest of Ziya Ibragimli, another activist, expelled from Germany. According to Zafar Akhmedov, arrests threaten other activists who may be expelled from Germany.

“One of them is Ravil Gasanov. He actively participated in the protest actions in Germany, like other activists already arrested in Azerbaijan,” the human rights defender suggested.

Azerbaijani journalist Afghan Mukhtarly, who lives in Germany, notes that Germany continues to expel from the country Azerbaijani activists, despite the threat of their arrests in the homeland. Over the past nine months, eight activists expelled from Germany have been detained in Azerbaijan.