Azerbaijan Supreme Court upholds Talysh researcher's 18-year sentence

Iqbal Abilov

Azerbaijan's Supreme Court has upheld an 18-year prison sentence for a prominent ethnic Talysh researcher convicted of treason, following a hearing in which he accused the state of systemic discrimination.

Iqbal Abilov, the 37-year-old editor-in-chief of the Talysh National Academy News journal, had appealed against his conviction for allegedly collaborating with Armenian intelligence.

During the hearing in Baku on 11 June, Abilov protested after the court rejected his request for a Talysh-language interpreter.

The judges ruled that an interpreter was unnecessary because Abilov speaks and understands Azerbaijani.

In response, Abilov refused to deliver his full defence speech, instead delivering a brief statement in English, Talysh, Azerbaijani, and Russian.

I believe in the equality of all people, ethnic groups, and languages," Abilov said. "Your decision not to invite a Talysh interpreter shows that you and the system you represent do not believe in the equality of citizens."

He added that the court's decision, like the criminal case against him, represented "systemic discrimination."

Abilov attended the hearing wearing a black T-shirt bearing a Talysh translation of a famous line by Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet: "If you do not burn, if I do not burn, how will the darkness come to light?"

The presiding judge, Ilkin Rajabov, rejected the accusations of bias. He told the court that he is himself of Talysh origin, which he argued proved that ethnic discrimination does not exist in Azerbaijan's judicial system.

Abilov countered that the judge's personal ethnic background did not disprove systemic discrimination.

Abilov's lawyer, Fariz Namazli, called the charges groundless and urged the court to acquit his client.

There is no reliable evidence in the case file to support claims that he communicated with foreign intelligence or used pseudonyms online to make anti-state calls," Namazli said.

Abilov was arrested in July 2024 while visiting family in Azerbaijan. He had lived in Belarus since childhood.

He was charged with high treason, inciting ethnic hatred, and making public calls against the state on behalf of foreign organisations.

A court in Lankaran sentenced him to 18 years in prison in May 2025, a decision later upheld by an appeals court in Shirvan.

The researcher maintains his innocence, insisting he is being penalised solely for his academic work on the history and culture of the Talysh people, an Iranian-language ethnic minority concentrated in southern Azerbaijan.

Human rights organisations, including United Nations experts, have recognised Abilov as a political prisoner.

His family said they will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Azerbaijani authorities deny any ethnic discrimination in the country, maintaining that all ethnic groups enjoy equal rights under the law.