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Detained in Guba on January 8, local believers Vafanur Mammadov and Nizami Najafov are charged under Article 228.2.1 (illegal possession of weapons and ammunition by a group of persons) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani news agency Turan reports.

Yesterday the Sabail District Court chose the preventive measure of arrest for a period of 2 months. A Guba human rights activist, a cousin of Vafanur, Avtandil Mammadov told Turan. Vafanur's brother Vafadar Mammadov, who was arrested in Guba on January 9, was also delivered to the Sabail court where a preventive measure against him was decided. "Vafadar Mammadov has nothing to do with this case at all. He has long been working as a bricklayer in Baku. He came to Guba after his brother's arrest. He spent the night at my house. In the morning, when he went to Guba court to attend the trial of his father, he was also arrested. Vafanur Mammadov is not a radical believer.

All that Vafanur did was writing a commentary in the social network “Odnoklassniki” about the detention of another local - Nizami Najafov," Avtandil Mammadov said. According to him, Vafanur Mamedov is charged on keeping a grenade in his house, but it was planted there. "With regard to the family there is a practice of arbitrariness and injustice. All the men in this family are arrested,” stated the humans’ rights defender Avtandil Mammadov.

According to the Committee to Protect the Rights of Islamists Azerbaijani authorities have arrested around 100 Muslim believers since 2010.

Since the beginning of 2011 the Islamic Party in Azerbaijan has undergone repressions. In January 2011, the leader of the IPA Movsum Samedov condemned Azerbaijani authorities' for banning the headscarves in schools, denounced corruption and human rights violations in the country and called on the Azerbaijani people to rise against the oppressive regime. Samedov and several of his supporters were arrested.

In their IPA homes and offices raids were carried out. As the Azerbaijani troops announced, during the searches weapons were found. IPA arrested members were accused of trying to overthrow the government, illegal possession of weapons, preparing terrorist attacks, etc. In October 2011 Samedov and six other members of the IPA were sentenced to long terms imprisonment.