According to the lawyer, at the hearing, he also learned that Faig Amirli’s case had been separated from the joint case with Azerbaijan Popular Front Party member Fuad Ahmadli.
Background: Faig Amirli was arrested on 20 August 2016. He is charged under Articles 168.1 (violating citizens’ rights under the pretext of performing religious rites) and 283-2 (instigation of ethnic, racial and religious hostility) of the Criminal Code. The indictment bill refers to him as an imam of the Hizmet movement linked to Fetullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim cleric who is accused of masterminding the failed coup attempt in Turkey on 15 July 2016.
Fuad Ahmadli was detained on 18 August 2016. Ahmadli’s detention term was last extended for three months on 3 March 2017. Ahmadli is charged under Articles 302.1 (infringement of the legislation on operative-search activity) and 308.1 (abusing official powers) of the Criminal Code. According to the indictment, Fuad Ahmadli, an operator at the Call Centre of Azerfon LLC, channelled personal information of subscribers to certain people. The indictment mentions him as a supporter of Fetullah Gulen, the leader of a terrorist organisation. The indictment further reads that, religious literature and CDs prohibited by law, speeches of Fetullah Gulen, and documents on his mutual relations with so- called “Hizmet (Service) imams” have been seized from his apartment during search.