Opposition figure Gulu Mammadli stated that the arrest of Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was expected, but the reasons go beyond simple criticism of the authorities. According to Mammadli, Karimli's publications in major Western media have increased his political significance and visibility abroad, which has caused concern among the Azerbaijani authorities.
Kamal Tambiyev, a native of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, was transferred to the prison in Verkhneuralsk (Chelyabinsk Region), and Abubakar Rizvanov from Dagestan was transferred to the prison in Minusinsk (Krasnoyarsk Region). Both are political prisoners and were convicted in the case of financing terrorism.
Earlier, another defendant in the case, journalist of the Dagestani newspaper Chernovik Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, was transferred to prison No. 2 in Vladimir.
Last year, Abdulmumin Gadzhiev was sentenced to 16 years and 10 months in prison, Abubakar Rizvanov - to 17 years 10 months, Kemal Tambiyev - to 17 years 4 months. The prosecution claimed that Gadzhiev supported ISIS terrorists by transferring 16 thousand rubles. All three were found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and organizing its financing. The convicted persons themselves do not admit guilt.
Human rights activists claim that the criminal case is fabricated: the materials contain about 200 deliberate distortions, falsifications and violations.