ATPC condemns Ruslan Vahabov's sentence

The Azerbaijani Talysh Public Council (ATPC) has condemned the sentence of 4 years of imprisonment of activist Ruslan Vahabov in a drug case.

The sentence was handed down on 12 January by the judiciary of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes.

The ATPC believes that Vahabov is being prosecuted on trumped-up charges, as no credible evidence of Vahabov's guilt was presented. The entire prosecution was based on police allegations while the investigation did not establish the origin of the drugs.

The ATPC holds that the real reason for Vahabov's arrest is his criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities in social networks, and calls for his immediate release.

The lawyer of the convicted Agshin Kerimov noted that Vahabov was initially arrested under Article 234.4.3 (drug trafficking on a large scale) of the Criminal Code (5 to 12 years of imprisonment).

However, during the court investigation, the charge was re-classified to the milder Article 234.1.1 (Illegal acquisition, storage without intent to sell narcotic drugs in large quantities), which provides for a sentence of 3 to 8 years.

According to Kerimov, Vakhabov does not plead guilty, and the defence will appeal the verdict in the appeal instance and ask for acquittal. Vakhabov was detained in September last year.