Court sentences religious activist to 6 years of imprisonment

Baku/20.05.21/Turan: The sentence of the activist of the "Muslim Unity" Movement Razi Gumbatov was read out at the Baku Court on Grave Crimes on Friday.

The panel of judges chaired by Telman Huseynov found him guilty under Article 234.4.3 (drug trafficking on a large scale) of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to 6 years of imprisonment.

Earlier, the prosecutor had asked for seven years of imprisonment. Gumbatov did not plead guilty. The defence also considered the court's verdict unlawful.

Lawyer Javad Javadov said that during the trial no reliable evidence was presented against Gumbatov. The defence will appeal.

Police detained about a dozen supporters of the "Muslim Unity" Movement who came to the court to support Gumbatov.

Recall that Gumbatov was detained on 7 July 2021 in the village of Jeyranbatan. Only three days later his lawyer was able to find out that as far back as on July 8 he had been arrested by the Narimanov district court for four months on charges of large-scale drug trafficking. He could face imprisonment for up to 12 years.

The "Muslim Unity" Movement linked up Gumbatov's arrest with his criticism of the authorities in social media, as well as his active struggle against the spread of drugs among young people.

Human rights activists recognised Gumbatov as a political prisoner. -30B06-