Azerbaijan sentences religious activist Elshan Guliyev to four years

Elshan Guliyev

An Azerbaijani court has sentenced devout activist Elshan Guliyev to four years in prison after downgrading drug charges that he maintains were fabricated.

The Baku Grave Crimes Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday, following a trial that local advocates say is part of a broader crackdown on religious groups.

Guliyev was originally charged with the illegal acquisition, storage, and transport of a large quantity of narcotics with the intent to sell. However, the court reclassified the charge to drug possession only, removing the "intent to sell" element from the final conviction.

Before the sentence was handed down, Guliyev addressed the courtroom, denying all accusations and describing the case against him as a politically motivated setup.

"We have only one sin," Guliyev said in his final speech. "We say 'no' to oppressors."

His address was cut short by court officials, and he was forcibly removed from the courtroom before the judges read out the final verdict, journalist Arzu Abdulla told independent Azerbaijani outlet Toplum TV.

Guliyev has been in custody since August last year, when he was detained by police officers at the Sadarak shopping centre in Baku, where he worked.

Human rights monitors have expressed growing concern over the treatment of religious activists in the Caspian nation.

According to a report published in May by the Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan, there are currently 328 political prisoners in the country, of whom 182 are categorised as religious activists.

The government in Baku has consistently rejected accusations of human rights abuses. Azerbaijani authorities maintain that the country's judiciary is fully independent and that no one is imprisoned or targeted because of their political beliefs or religious activities.