PFPA Activist Sentenced to 6 Years

The Baku Court of Grave Crimes today issued a sentence on the member of the Youth Committee of the Popular Front Party Elvin Abdullayev. The court found him guilty of drug possession and deprived him of liberty for 6 years.

Recall that Abdullayev, who is Azerbaijan Pedagogical University’s student, was arrested after the exam on January 8, 2015. Police said that Abdullayev was allegedly seized 3 grams of heroin, after which he was charged under Article 234.4.3 (drug trafficking on a large scale).

However, the student said that the drugs were planted. The reason was his criticism of the authorities and appeals to fellow students not to be afraid to express their opinions. Following the statements, Abdullayev was called by the Pro-rector and warned about the inadmissibility of such conduct. However, the student was not afraid of threats.

After his arrest, investigators have long tried to break Elvin and force him to address the accusation against the leadership of PFPA, but Elvin was not broken, his mother told Turan. According to her, Elvin has repeatedly been put in solitary confinement as punishment.

During the investigation Abdullayev’s guilt has not been proven. The Youth Committee of PFPA believes that the young man is persecuted for political reasons. In addition to active participation in the Youth Committee of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, he also published sharply critical articles about the authorities on Facebook. Abdullayev became the eighth activist of PFPA thrown behind bars.

The defense plans to appeal the verdict.  -03B-