Talish historian and blogger Zahireddin Ibrahimov will remain in detention for five more months

Zahireddin Ibrahimov

On November 21, the Sabail District Court in Baku decided to extend Ibrahimov's detention after a request from investigators. Ibrahimov, who was born in 1954, was arrested in Russia and sent to Azerbaijan on March 26 of this year.

Ibrahimov has been a Russian citizen since 2002 and lived in Yekaterinburg. The State Security Service (SSS) has brought serious charges against him. They claim he was hired by foreign agencies, often for money, to take actions against Azerbaijan's sovereignty, land, security, and defense. He's accused of separatist actions and stirring up ethnic hatred in Azerbaijan.

The charges against him are based on three articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan:

Article 274: Treason.

Article 281.3: Making anti-state public statements for foreign groups or their people.

Article 283.1: actions to invoke national hatred.

Ibrahimov is known for his political and cultural work, on top of his history writings. He has a Talish-language program on his YouTube channel and co-founded the Talish Culture Center in 2012. He was turned away at the airport when he tried to enter Azerbaijan in 2014.