Ruslan Adil oglu Vahabov - activist of the Public Council of Talysh of Azerbaijan Date of arrest: 22 September 2023 Charge: Article 234.4.3 (Illegal manufacturing, purchase, storage, transportation, transfer or selling of narcotics, psychotropic substances committed in large amount) of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic. On 23 September 2023, the Baku City Nizami District Court issued a ruling: to satisfy the investigator's petition to elect a measure of restraint in the form of arrest and impose on Ruslan Vahabov a measure of restraint in the form of arrest for a period of 4 months. The period of detention in custody during the investigation has been subsequently extended times Sentence: On 12 January 2024, the Baku City Grave Crimes Court sentenced to 4 years in prison Judge: Elnur Nuriyev Conclusion: Ruslan Vahabov, a 33-year-old civil society activist criticised the activities of the Azerbaijani authorities in social and economic spheres on the social networks. At the same time, as a member of the Public Council of Talysh of Azerbaijan (PCTA), he has been in favour of ensuring the constitutional national-cultural rights of his people. During his public activities, he has repeatedly been subjected to pressure from the police. On 21 September 2023, on his Facebook page, he wrote an anti-war text entitled "What did we earn for 23 hours and 43 minutes?", in which he meant that the one-day military operation in Karabakh pursued the goal of the ruling elite's enrichment. On the morning of 22 September, as he was on his way to work, he was detained by the police from the 23rd Station of the Baku Nizami District. According to his relatives and the PSTA management, the police brutally assaulted Ruslan Vahabov at the police station and then grabbed him by the hair and dragged him across the floor, telling him "We will now show you what we have achieved in Karabakh within 24 hours". Unable to withstand the torture, R. Vahabov incriminated himself, i.e. admitted that he had allegedly been detected with 6 grammes of heroin and that the drugs belonged to him. Vahabov's lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, confirmed to the journalists that Ruslan Vahabov had complained about abuse, self-incrimination and the claims of law enforcement officers in connection with the publication on the social network. The defender also pointed out that Vahabov's rights had been violated following his detention: he was not allowed to contact his family and ask for a lawyer of his choice. However, the Baku City Court of Appeal, presided over by the Judge Ibrahim Ibrahimli, did not pay attention to Vahabov's claim of torture and his lawyer's arguments about violation of the activist's rights to defence and lack of primary reliable evidence of the defendant's guilt; the Court dismissed the complaint. The PSTA members are convinced that Ruslan Vahabov has being persecuted for his anti-war statements, as well as his social media posts in which he raised the issues of ensuring the Talyshs' national and cultural rights. The organisation also pointed out that Vahabov is the only family breadwinner and has two young children. Moreover, Vahabov has health problems, has 92 suffered from jaundice, also has a chronic lung disease, and from this point of view his detention is not only unreasonable but also inhuman.