Azerbaijani activist sentenced to 6 years for writing “Stalin” on Aliyev statue
A court in Baku sentenced activist of the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) Elbeyi Karimli to 6 years in prison. He was found guilty of drug possession.
Karimli stated in court that drugs are a standard falsified accusation. The reason for the arrest, according to him, was that last summer he wrote the word “Stalin” on the statue of Heydar Aliyev, the ex-president of Azerbaijan, the father of the current head of state Ilham Aliyev. Karimli was then detained, the police put pressure on him, and he accepted the accusation. The man was arrested in August 2023 and was kept in Baku pre-trial detention center No. 1.
In fact, Elbai Karimli was convicted based on the testimony of the police themselves. The young man stated that he confessed under pressure. But the court ignored this, the lawyer said.
