In Azerbaijan, the Shiite theologian Sardar Babayev, who was taken to prison, was immediately put in a punishment cell. He refused to sign the violation report and give any evidence against himself.

Babayev told the lawyer that one of the high-ranking officials of the colony said that the decision to place him in solitary confinement came “from above” and that the ground was being prepared for his sending to the closed Gobustan prison.

The head of the Center for Monitoring Political Prisoners, Elshan Hasanov, noted that in Azerbaijan there have already been cases of tightening the regime of punishment of theologians and religious figures. At one time, the leader of the Islamic Party Movsum Samadov, the head of the Muslim Union movement Taleh Bagyrzade and his deputy Abbas Huseynov were sent to Gobustan prison.

Earlier, a court in Baku sentenced Shiite theologian Sardar Babayev to 17 years in prison. He was found guilty of treason in favor of Iran. He himself stated that the charges were fabricated, calling himself “a victim of the deterioration of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations.”

According to lawyers, during the judicial investigation no substantiated and reliable evidence of Babayev’s guilt was presented. Human rights activists recognized him as a political prisoner.

Previously, the ECHR decided to pay the theologian compensation in the amount of 5 thousand euros, recognizing a violation under Art. 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (right to liberty and security of person).

Let us also recall that in 2017 Sardar Babayev was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of violating the requirements of conducting religious ceremonies.