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Fourteen Azerbaijani citizens were detained in Turkey for their intention to join the IS, Turkish media report, according to Trend news agency.

During a counter-terrorism operation carried out by the Turkish police in Adana, 38 foreigners were detained, including 14 Azerbaijani citizens. They intended to go to Syria through Turkey to join the terrorist group IS. Besides the Azerbaijani citizens, there were 7 Indonesian, 5 Iraqi, 5 Kyrgyzstani, 2 Tajikistani, 1 Iranian and 1 Afghanistan citizens among the detainees. There were 10 women and 15 children in the group.   

Citing the Turkish website Cumhuriyyet.com.tr, Azerbaijani news agency Turan reports that the police also detained “Emir of Istanbul,” a high-ranking representative of the IS. He is an Azerbaijani citizen, Abdulla Abdullayev, responsible for taking volunteers to Syria.

Russian political analyst Sergei Markedonov writes for the Russian International Affairs Council that the ethnic Azerbaijani Abdulla Abdullayev (detained during a special operation by the Turkish secret services) used to be one of the most influential recruiters for IS, who had organised Caucasian jihadists’ transit through Turkey to the Middle East until July 2015. “Jihadists of Azerbaijani origin have been fighting for some years in the ranks of various terrorist groups in Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In early 2015, information emerged about the death of 100 IS insurgents of Azerbaijani origin during the armed conflict in Syria, and ten suspected Islamists were arrested by the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan,” the expert highlights.

Markedonov further notes that diplomats from other countries and representatives of power structures of the republic have made reports of their activities as a security risk more than once.

According to a Minval.az report, the Centre for the Protection of Freedom of Conscience and Religion in Azerbaijan (DEVAMM) issued a statement over the Islamophobic processes recently observed in the country. “We believe that attitude demonstrated recently towards the religious leaders and believers is a gross violation of human rights and freedoms. We regard the voiced initiatives to limit freedom of conscience and faith as an attempt to restrict the rights and freedoms stated in the Constitution. We find it wrong to aggravate the situation in our country – which is already in a complicated geopolitical condition – by creating an artificial tension. We further urge to prevent the reduction of the democratic potential to minimum level,” DEVAMM said.

Azerbaijani website SalamNews cites Maide.az reporting that the Council of Religious Leaders of Azerbaijan (ARM) released a statement, too, condemning the pressure exerted on believers and the arrests of some of them in Sabunchi settlement. “ARM strongly condemns the pressure recently exerted on the believers in the country. We regard the religious leader Elchin Gasimov and believers’ arrest as a demonstration of cruelness against the citizens,” the Council stressed.

Haqqin.az reports that another statement was made by the “Movement of Muslims’ Unity,” whose members had taken part in a protest in front of Sabunchi district police. In the statement, the movement condemns the “biased campaign against the organisation” and highlights that its activities strictly respect the Azerbaijani laws; it adds that it has no ties with any other country. “We are concerned about the lack of justice and respect for human rights, as well as the existing political discrimination in the country. The Constitution of the country allows us to criticise the lawlessness in the country and the dishonest officials. We are neither radical, nor illegal organisation,” the movement said in the statement also expressing readiness to cooperate with all the human rights organisations.

Earlier, there were reports about hundreds of Islamists’ protest in front of Bakikhanov settlement police station, Sabunchi district. They protested against the detention of the chairman of the “Movement of Muslims’ Unity,” Elchin Gasimli, and other Islamists after prayer in a Baku mosque. Gasimli was detained because of his speech in a mosque in Nardaran settlement where he sharply criticised Tale Bagirzade’s beating in Yasamal police, Baku, on 3 November.