Supporter of Taleh Bagirzadeh Disappeared

Relatives of an active supporter of the leader of the movement Muslim Unity Taleh Bagirzadeh, Ahsan Nuruzadeh, say about his disappearance.

On January 24 Nuruzadeh left his place, and so far there is no information about his whereabouts. His family members reported it to Service 102 of the Interior Ministry, and were advised to apply to the 18th precinct of the Narimanov District Police Office. Nuruzadeh's wife wrote a statement to the 18th precinct about her husband's disappearance. But it was to no avail. The family believes Nuruzadeh was detained, and entered into a contract with the lawyer Yalchin Imanov to determine the fate of the activist.

On January 26 the lawyer appealed to the relevant authorities, but to no avail.

Nuruzadeh is an active supporter of the movement Muslim Unity and its leader Taleh Bagirzadeh. He attended the hearings of the Nardaran case and disappeared on the eve of the sentencing.

It should be noted that on January 24 Bagirzadeh's supporter Rovshan Mammadli was arrested for 30 days. A religious activist, a resident of the village Mashtaga Tabriz Sibili was also arrested for 30 days. Observers believe that these arrests may be linked to the objectives of the authorities to isolate the most active supporters of Bagirzadeh and avoid organizing mass protests on the day of the verdict on the accused in the Nardaran case.

On January 25 the court sentenced Bagirzadeh and his deputy, Abbas Huseynov, to 20 years in prison each. The remaining 16 defendants received penalties from 10 to 19 years in prison. -06D--