Azerbaijani Authorities Arrest Hundreds of Religious Shias
14 April 2023
According to local independent media and rights activists, the Azerbaijani authorities have arrested hundreds of religious Shias in recent weeks. While pro-government media have reported on only a few of these cases, they have labeled a number of the detainees as spies working for Iran, despite the lack of evidence reflected in the charges filed against them.
The arrests have accelerated since the gun attack on an Azerbaijani MP in late March, which Baku has suggested was Iran's doing. The process also followed the lethal armed assault on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran in late January, which President Ilham Aliyev directly blamed on "some branches of the Iranian establishment."
Azerbaijan's law enforcement bodies released a joint statement on April 6, saying that they carried out "joint special complex operational measures" to prevent "criminal acts aimed at destabilizing the country that were being orchestrated by a group of people manipulated and financially compensated by the Iranian special services." The statement named eight people and accused them of promoting Iran and religious radicalism, organizing the sale of drugs from Iran, and financing disruptive activities in Azerbaijan.
While only these eight arrests have been confirmed by the authorities, media and rights activists have reported the arrests of hundreds. The detainees identified by rights groups as religious Shias were mostly arrested on drug-related charges. Pro-government media outlets have labeled some of them as spies and traitors, despite the absence of official charges.
As the crackdown continues, Azerbaijan's relations with Iran have deteriorated. The two countries' foreign ministers spoke by phone on April 8 to discuss the existing dissatisfaction and misunderstandings between the two countries. The Azerbaijani ministry emphasized the importance of continuing negotiations towards eliminating misunderstandings and implementing existing projects between Azerbaijan and Iran.
The arrests have accelerated since the gun attack on an Azerbaijani MP in late March, which Baku has suggested was Iran's doing. The process also followed the lethal armed assault on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran in late January, which President Ilham Aliyev directly blamed on "some branches of the Iranian establishment."
Azerbaijan's law enforcement bodies released a joint statement on April 6, saying that they carried out "joint special complex operational measures" to prevent "criminal acts aimed at destabilizing the country that were being orchestrated by a group of people manipulated and financially compensated by the Iranian special services." The statement named eight people and accused them of promoting Iran and religious radicalism, organizing the sale of drugs from Iran, and financing disruptive activities in Azerbaijan.
While only these eight arrests have been confirmed by the authorities, media and rights activists have reported the arrests of hundreds. The detainees identified by rights groups as religious Shias were mostly arrested on drug-related charges. Pro-government media outlets have labeled some of them as spies and traitors, despite the absence of official charges.
As the crackdown continues, Azerbaijan's relations with Iran have deteriorated. The two countries' foreign ministers spoke by phone on April 8 to discuss the existing dissatisfaction and misunderstandings between the two countries. The Azerbaijani ministry emphasized the importance of continuing negotiations towards eliminating misunderstandings and implementing existing projects between Azerbaijan and Iran.
Paylaş:
