An Azerbaijani man has been arrested on charges of treason.

Azerbaijani resident Siyafat Farzaliyev, accused of transferring video recordings of strategic facilities to a foreign intelligence service, has been taken into custody.

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, in March 2025, officers from the State Security Service detained Azerbaijani resident Shohrat Mammadov, accused of treason through espionage.

Azerbaijani citizen Siyafat Farzaliyev, born in 1969, was detained on suspicion of collaborating with foreign intelligence services, the press service of the State Security Service reported.

Farzaliyev is a resident of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. According to investigators, while in a foreign country, he secretly collaborated with representatives of that country's intelligence services for financial compensation.

"After returning to the country, on their instructions, he filmed military and other strategically important facilities located in the city of Nakhchivan and the Shahbuz district, and passed these materials on to representatives of the foreign intelligence service. Furthermore, during a search of the apartment where the citizen resided, individual parts of a Kalashnikov assault rifle were discovered and seized," the agency's statement reads.

Siyafat Farzaliyev has been charged under Articles 228.1 (illegal trafficking of weapons and ammunition) and 274 (treason) of the Criminal Code. The court has ordered his pretrial detention, the publication states.

A 35-year-old Azerbaijani citizen also faces treason charges. Igbal Abilov, who lived in Belarus since childhood, came to Azerbaijan in 2024 for his cousin's wedding. He was detained on charges of collaborating with Armenian special services. Abilov denied the charges and explained that he was engaged solely in scientific activity. However, in May 2025, the court sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

Abilov's relatives believe the real reason for the persecution is his research on Talysh culture. The charge of treason looks unconvincing and has become yet another episode in the practice of persecuting activists from national minorities in Azerbaijan, human rights activists stated. The "Caucasian Knot" prepared a report "How is Igbal Abilov's arrest connected to the persecution Talysh activists".