08 April 2025, 23:16
Azerbaijan: inmates react with hunger strike to believer’s detention
In Azerbaijan, 18 prisoners are holding a hunger strike in protest against the detention of Khayalya Gurbanova, a believer from the village of Mashtaga, who was pressured by the police. The hunger strikers are demanding apologies from policemen, while the Azeri Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) denies Gurbanova's detention.
"On April 1, Khayalya Gurbanova was forcibly taken to the police station. She was charged with the posts placed in social networks by her sister, Gyunel Gurbanova, the wife of Samir Babaev, a political prisoner. Khayalya was subjected to psychological pressure, and was released after she wrote a statement that she was not a member of the “Muslim Unity” Movement. This provoked an angry reaction from the believers languishing in jails," said Abulfaz Bunyadov, the press secretary of the Movement.
On October 19, 2023, Samir Babaev, a member of the “ Muslim Unity”, was sentenced to four years in prison on drug trafficking charges. He denied the charges and said he was tortured to extract a confession.
One religious activist believes that Khayalya Gurbanova's detention was intended to intimidate the families of the arrested believers.
In its 2024 report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) drew attention to the "poor situation" with the religious freedom in Azerbaijan. There, last year, Shia Muslims were arrested and accused of ties to Iran. Most of those arrested in Azerbaijan faced trumped-up drug charges.
The report, citing the Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan, said that by the end of 2024, overall 233 believers were in jails in Azerbaijan.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 5, 2025 at 06:22 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: СK correspondent
Комментирование через Кавказский узел