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Baku court handed down a ten-year prison sentence tothe Azerbaijani activist of youth opposition movement “NiDa”, GiyasIbrahimov, on trumped-up drug charges, BBC reports. 

It is noted that the sentence was severe, as the prosecutor sought a sentence of 9 years. It is highlighted that the real reason of Ibrahimov and other activist BayramMammadov’s arrest was that they had painted on the pedestal of the monument to Heydar Aliyev, ex-president of Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, lawyer ElchinSadigov told the Caucasian Knot that the sentence was illegal and unfair and would be appealed.

GiyasIbrahimov said that he had prepared a written speech, however, it had been seized before the court started.

“I do not want to defend myself. Every person with a clear conscience knows that the real reason of my arrest was my civic protest against the illegality in the country. I did not violate written laws. However, the regime has unwritten laws, according to which, slavery is presented as freedom. When one violates those unwritten laws, it is difficult to avoid ‘punishment’. When people violate ‘unwritten laws,’ they are arrested on slanderous charges,”Ibrahimov stated.

He noted that writing slogans on the monument, he wanted to express his protest against the injustice, however, it was interpreted as an “insult to the spirit of a person, who is not alive.”

He added that he consciously chose not to be “a slave of the regime” and he was not afraid of a severe punishment.

It is emphasized that Ibrahimov’s speech was met with applauses, after which judge EnverSeyidov ordered to “clear the courtroom.”

In her turn, the defendant’s mother, ShuraIbrahimova, noted that the Azerbaijani government was capable of any dishonor.

Leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (APFP), Ali Kerimli, commenting on the sentence, called it politically motivated.

“TheregimeisveryangrywithGiyasIbrahimov. As he himself said, he did not violate written laws.

However, he did violate the unwritten laws of the ‘dynastic regime’,”Kerimli stated.

Human rights defender IntigamAliyev said that sentencing the activist to more years of imprisonment, than the prosecutor sought, is a “nonsense.”

“It is a nonsense. It contradicts the legislation, international law, judicial ethics, justice, and law,” I. Aliyev said.

Meanwhile, international human rights organization Freedom House issued a statement related to the activist’s sentence. 


“The prison sentence for 22-year old GiyasIbrahimov followed his being tortured and being found guilty of bogus charges of drug possession,” said Robert Herman, vice president for international programs.

“The government is intolerant of dissent or free expression of any kind, demonstrating its fear of public opinion,” the statement reads.|

In its turn, Human Rights Watch noted that the Azerbaijani authorities failed to investigate the allegations of abuseagainstNiDa activists, and instead charged them with drug-related crimes.

Reportedly, Ibrahimov’s conviction fits squarely into a well-established pattern of Azerbaijan’s authorities using false, politically motivated criminal charges to jail political and youth activists. The authorities should release Ibrahimov immediately and unconditionally, and stop using false charges to lock up critics.

According to the Azerbaijani media, at night of Heydar Aliyev’s (current Azerbaijani president's father) birthday, unknown authors painted on the pedestal of the monument, towards which marches traditionally begin to bow to the “nationwide leader” and “savior of the nation” since morning.

The inscription was a pun on the phrase “Congratulations on flower festival,” in the first word of which, two letters were changed giving the word and the phrase a different meaning quite popular among the Azerbaijani dissidents and opposition - “Congratulations on the slavery festival!”

The flower festival has been annually celebrated in Azerbaijan on May 10 since 2004. It is dedicated to

Heydar Aliyev’s birthday. Huge sums of money are spent on the festival. In particular, Baku City Hall published the figure 15 million dollars in 2007, and in 2013, on Heydar Aliyev’s 90th anniversary, this sum exceeded 76 million dollars.