Ingilab Ahadov, former chairman of Azerbaijan Islamic Party, has been arrested on charges of treason and placed in pretrial detention under a court order. Ahadov had terminated his activity in the Islamic Party due to health issues back in 2014. A search conducted in his apartment in Salyan region revealed nothing suspicious.
The statement released by the PR department of the State Security Service regarding Ahadov’s arrest reads, “reasonable suspicion has been established regarding Ingilab Ahadov’s involvement in secret collaboration with employees of a foreign special service agency, his fulfillment of regular orders given by that agency since 2011 and his treasonous acts through espionage to the detriment of the state security of the Azerbaijan Republic. Ingilab Ahadov is charged under article 274 of the Criminal Code (treason).”
Prior to this case, the Chairman of the Islamic Party, Movsum Samadov, denounced the government’s policy on human rights, cases of corruption and bribery, resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and pressures on Islam and Muslims (including the hijab ban and Islamophobia) at the meeting of the Party’s General Assembly on January 2, 2011. Samadov was charged under articles 214.2.1; 214.2.3; 228.3 and 278 of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code on January 20, 2011. The Party’s General Assembly held another meeting on January 24, 2011, transferring the Chairmanship to his first deputy, Elchin Manafov. On October 7, 2011, Baku Grave Crimes Courts found Samadov guilty of all charges and sentenced him to 12 years in prison.