Court arrests Nursists detained

The Yasamal District Court on Wednesday completed the hearing of a group of Nursists detained in Azerbaijan, APA reports.

 The court sentenced Eldaniz Hajiyev, Ismayil Mammadov, his brother Zakariyya Mammadov, Shahin Hasanov, each of them, to 5 years in prison, and Ravan Farzaliyev to 2 years. 

They were arrested in the courtroom. The accused persons’ lawyers did not attend the hearing.

At the previous hearing, the public prosecutor asked for the court to arrest the detainees in the court hall and sentence them to two up to six years in prison.

 Note that, in 2013, law enforcement agencies conducted a search operation into a house situated at Khidir Mustafayev str., Baku, detaining 41 Nursists who had gathered therein. Banned religious books as well as audio and video materials promoting the Nur movement were found and seized from their house.

Some of those detained were released after questioning.

The Sabail district court sentenced Eldaniz Hajiyev, Ismayil Mammadov, and Ravan Farzaliyev to pre-trial detention. Their pre-trial detention was further replaced with house arrest.

The detainees are charged under the Criminal Code’s Article 168.2 (encroachment of citizens’ rights on pretext of commitment of religious activities).

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