Azerbaijani Islamic Party Head to be Jailed for 3 Months

The chair of the unregistered Islamic Party of Azerbaijan (AIP) has been sentenced to three months in pretrial detention on charges of illegal arms possession, inciting terror, and seeking to change the constitutional system, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports.

Movsum Samadov was initially detained along with several members of his party on Jan. 7 and held for 13 days for allegedly resisting police.

Samadov’s lawyer, Anar Qasimov, told RFE/RL on Jan. 20 after the sentencing that Samadov was interrogated for three hours that day, which Qasimov witnessed. Samadov was then taken to the Nasimi District court, which ruled that Samadov be held in jail for three months.

Qasimov said he will appeal the decision.

Human rights defenders say Samadov’s detention is linked to a Jan. 2 speech at an AIP meeting in which he criticized a government ban on girls wearing head scarves in middle schools.