Human rights defenders declare Mamed Ibragim a victim of political repressions in Azerbaijan

The court has failed to prove the guilt of Mamed Ibragim, an advisor to the chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), said his advocate. The oppositionist is persecuted for political reasons, human rights defenders assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 29, 2018, Mamed Ibragim, who had served three years of his prison term, was supposed to be released; however, he was arrested for two months under the charge of keeping a knife in his colony cell. The court sentenced him to 5 months and 22 days in jail.

The defence will appeal against the verdict, an advocate Javad Javadov has stated.

“The prosecution's version is against the common sense – what was the reason for Ibragim to take a risk and keep the prohibited object (a knife) several days before his release from prison?" the advocate has asked.

The Ibragim's conviction on a contrived accusation is the authorities' reprisal for his active oppositional activities, Ali Kerimli, the PFPA leader, is sure.

"The authorities have declared a 'crusade' against our party because of its intransigent position regarding arbitrariness and corruption," he has stated, expressing his confidence that Ibragim is being persecuted for his active participation in the activities of the PFPA and the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), and in organization of protests, as well as for his sharp critical publications on the Facebook.

The sentence to Ibragim was condemned by the Centre for the Protection of Political Prisoners and the Alliance for the Protection of Political Freedoms.