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Sunni Muslim prisoner of conscience Eyvaz Mammadov was given a nine-month prison term in the Azerbaijani capital Baku for selling religious books and other religious items, which have not undergone state censorship. The assistant to the Judge who sentenced him described the sentence as a "judicial secret," Forum 18 News Service reports''.

In late February, another four Sunni Muslims, who had been running shops selling religious books and other items in Baku's Narimanov and Yasamal Districts, were arrested and held until their sentences in the National Security Ministry (NSM) secret police Investigation Prison in Baku, according to Forum 18.

The five were imprisoned under Criminal Code Article 167.2-1 (production, sale and distribution of religious literature, religious items and other informational materials of religious nature with the aim of import, sale and distribution without appropriate authorization). Punishments for first time offenders acting alone are a fine of 5,000 to 7,000 Manats, or up to two years' imprisonment. Imam Mubariz Qarayev, Salim Qasimov, Azad Qafarov and Habibulla Omarov received prison terms of between six and fifteen months. The five Muslims were connected with the Sunni Lezgin Mosque in Baku's Old City, where Imam Qarayev had led prayers until his arrest. The government intends to forcibly close the Mosque, one of many Sunni mosques the government has closed, Forum 18 points.

In its annual report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated that in Azerbaijan, 11 members of religious groups were imprisoned at the moment, seven were released in 2014; two were pardoned by President Aliyev in March 2015. In November 2014, nine Sunni Muslims arriving to pray in a Sumgait home were detained for several hours; police claimed to have found weapons. In February 2015, a Baku court sentenced the home’s owner, Zohrab Shikhaliyev (who offered his home for prayer because all local Sunni mosques were closed) to a six-month term on false weapons charges. Islamic theologian Taleh Bagirov, who publicly criticized the naming of a CMB (statebacked Caucasian Muslim Board) imam to serve in his mosque, was sentenced in 2013 on fabricated drug charges. The trial of three Muslims – Eldeniz Hajiyev, Ismayil Mammadov and Revan Sabzaliyev – for allegedly reading “illegal” religious literature and organizing an “illegal” religious group began in Baku in December 2014. If convicted, they face three to five year prison terms. Jehovah’s Witnesses Irina Zakharchenko and Valida Jabrayilova were also arrested and face up to a five-year term for offering religious literature.

Related:
Forum 18: Old Testament is banned religious literature in Azerbaijan 
In Azerbaijan, Jehovah's Witnesses can face up to five years in prison for distributing religious literature 
Five believers arrested in Azerbaijan for praying at home 
USCIRF: Religious repression in Azerbaijan increased in 2014; 11 members of religious groups imprisoned