Azerbaijani theologian Babaev refuses to plead guilty of high treason

In Baku, a court refused to release from custody Shiite theologian Sardar Babaev, accused of high treason. According to his advocate, Sardar Babaev called the charges politically motivated.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on October 19, in Azerbaijan, law enforcers detained Shiite theologian Khadji Ilgar Ibragimoglu, the head of the news website “deyerler.org”. He was questioned as a witness and released. Human rights defenders associate the law enforcers’ interest in questioning Khadji Ilgar Ibragimoglu with the beginning of a wave of repressions against religious figures amid aggravation of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran. On the same day, members and supporters of the public association “Spiritual Figures of Azerbaijan” were detained, including Sardar Babaev, Gadir Mamedov, Djalal Shafiev, Ali Musaev, and Tamkin Djafarov.

On October 27, the Baku Court of Appeal considered the Sardar Babaev’s complaint about the arrest, advocate Djavad Djavadov informed the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

“At the court hearing, Sardar Babaev denied the charge brought against him. He believes that his case is of a political nature. Sardar Babaev claimed that he fell victim to the aggravated relations between Azerbaijan and Iran,” the advocate said. He also added that the court dismissed the complaint.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 28, 2021 at 12:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.