On July 22, 2024, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service, the national intelligence office, arrested Igbal Abilov, an Azerbaijani citizen, researcher, and lecturer at Belarusian State University, in apparent retaliation for his research on ethnic minorities across the region.

Abilov, an ethnic Talysh, specializes in history and ethnography, with a focus on ethnic minorities of the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Iran. Abilov is also a member of the Talysh National Academy, a consortium of academics who study the Talysh indigenous group.

On June 22, security forces detained and questioned Abilov while he was visiting Azerbaijan for a wedding; he was released later that day. On June 27, nearly a week after his detention, Azerbaijani border officials prevented Abilov from boarding a flight back to Belarus, and confiscated his passport and phones.

On July 22, security forces summoned Abilov to pick up his phone and passport, however rather than giving his property back, authorities arrested him.

Two days later, the Sabail District Court of Baku remanded Abilov to four months in pretrial detention on several charges, including “high treason,” “foreign-agent-instructed public appeals against state,” and “incitement of ethnic hatred.” According to a pro-government media outlet, the basis for these charges included actions that Abilov allegedly took on behalf of Armenia’s national security services, including “organising activities” against Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, “attracting disruptive forces from different countries,” and “taking action aimed at creating hatred and enmity on ethnic grounds.”

The court denied Abilov’s appeal to be released from pretrial detention on July 31 and has prohibited contact with his family, and the sharing of documents related to the case.

Human rights groups highlighted that Azerbaijan had cracked down on scholars, journalists, and activists critical of governmental policies ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP29, scheduled for November 2024 in Baku.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the imprisonment of a scholar in apparent retaliation for his research on the history and cultures of ethnic minority groups, including the Talysh group in Azerbaijan, and collaboration with Armenian scholars. State authorities have a responsibility to refrain from restricting or retaliating against expressive activity, so long as it is nonviolent and responsible. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, arbitrary detentions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur55/8554/2024/en/
https://igbal.info/
https://oc-media.org/talysh-researcher-arrested-for-treason-in-azerbaijan/
https://turan.az/en/politics/talysh-researcher-igbal-abilov-arrested-for-4-months-782877
https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/10/08/we-try-stay-invisible/azerbaijans-escalating-crackdown-critics-and-civil-society
https://talyshfund.org/reports