22:00, 17 October 2026

A participant in the protests against the restriction of hijab wearing in Azerbaijan has been arrested.

Matanat Turan. Photo from Gulnara Ragimova's page. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3343509682703955&set=a.124160501305572

The court placed the activist of the National Front Party, Matanat Turan, who is a believer and wears a hijab, under house arrest, but the prosecutor's office appealed this decision and succeeded in placing Turan in a detention center. The persecution of Turan is politically motivated, the party believes.

As reported by “Caucasian Knot”, law enforcement detained a member of the opposition National Front Party of Azerbaijan, Elmaddin Muradov, in Baku; he was sentenced to administrative arrest. In the Absheron district, a member of this party, Matanat Turan, was also detained.

Since October 12, school leaders in Azerbaijan have not allowed teachers and schoolgirls who refused to remove their hijabs to attend classes. Around several schools in Baku, students and teachers held lessons in the street in protest. On October 13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the detention of 37 participants in the protests, while activists counted more than 200 detained. The protests due to the exclusion of children and female teachers from classes have become a continuation of a long-standing dispute over religious clothing in schools, according to a report from the “Caucasian Knot” titled “Protests over school dress code in Azerbaijan”.

As the head of the press service of the National Front Party of Azerbaijan, Natig Adilov, told the correspondent of the “Caucasian Knot”, Matanat Turan was detained on October 13 in connection with the protests against restrictions on wearing hijabs in schools in Azerbaijan.

According to Adilov, Matanat Turan was taken to the Absheron district police department.

“Yesterday (October 16), the Absheron district court decided to place her under house arrest. However, she continued to be held in custody at the Absheron police. It turned out that the prosecutor's office filed a protest against the court's decision. Today, the Sumgayit appellate court sent Matanat Turan to arrest, choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention in a criminal case,” Adilov said.

According to him, the activist in a hijab has been placed under arrest for 2 months under Article 233 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan (participation in actions aimed at violating public order). This article provides for a punishment of up to 3 years of imprisonment, but also alternative measures - fines, restriction of freedom, corrective labor.
And despite this, she was sent to arrest, which indicates bias and the political nature of the case, Adilov pointed out.

“Matanat Turan has previously been subjected to detentions and violence due to her participation in protest actions,” Adilov said.

Thus, in October 2021, she told the correspondent of the “Caucasian Knot” that she had been subjected to violence in front of the Baku Serious Crimes Court, where the verdict for another member of the National Front Party, Niyameddin Akhmedov, was expected to be announced. In the fall of 2020, Turan was detained at a rally in support of Tofiq Yagublu.

To obtain comments from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan and the Sumgayit appellate court.

Translated automatically via OpenAI from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/427561