Russian Writers Ask President of Azerbaijan to Release Writer Saday Shekerli

A large group of well-known Russian writers and poets, including Yuri Bondarev, Stanislav Kunjaev Valery Ganichev and Alexander Prokhanov, appealed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to intervene in the work of law enforcement, help to analyze the situation and release the writer Saday Shekerli, the author of books published in Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Turkey and America.

The writers called Shekerli patriot of Azerbaijan and consider that "the arrest is linked not with any extortion, but with the writer's craft, because in his books there is always room for criticism of contemporary order in the country. He, as a writer, does not hide his sympathy for his fellow citizens, who are in socially cramped conditions."

Saday Shekerli was arrested on December 23, 2015 on charges of extortion and blackmail of the Minister of Taxes Fazil Mammadov under Article 182.3.2 of the Criminal Code (the requirement of property on a large scale by means of blackmail). According to the Prosecutor General's Office, Shekerli was detained on reasonable suspicion of taking bribes in the amount of 10,000 manats.

Shekerli’s letter from the detention center, which was published by the website criminal.az on January 12 this year, shows that the writer was familiar with Fazil Mammadov, who once supported him financially in the past, at the request of the Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov and due to the mediation of the Chairman of the Azerbaijan Writers’ Union Anar . However, last time the writer asked for support for the novel Heart of the Wolf - the first part of a trilogy that was published. After Shekerli sent a copy of the book to the Ministry of Taxes, he was invited by the Deputy Minister Asif Jahangirov. As a result, on December 23, receiving financial "aid" of 10 thousand mantas, the writer was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.

The novel Heart of the Wolf tells a story of our day and is politically sharply critical of the Azerbaijani reality.

Shekerli complains that the entire edition of the novel has been confiscated, and the second part of the trilogy Red Line did not come out in the press. "Apparently, the third part of the trilogy will be devoted to life in prison," he said, fearing for his life.

Saday Shekerli was born in the village of Bicherivan in the Jalilabad region in 1959. He began his literary career as a student. The first collection of poems, Tree of Love was published in 1985.

He is the author of books of poetry and prose Coming Out Of The Night, Rain Music, Return From Death and others. -0-