Sardar Akif oglu Babayev - theologian, member of the Association Spiritual figures of Azerbaijan Date of arrest: 19 October 2021 Charge: Article 274 (High treason, that is deliberately action committed by a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan to detriment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, state security or defensibility of the Republic of Azerbaijan: changeover to enemy side, espionage, distribution of the state secret to foreign state, rendering assistance to a foreign state, foreign organization 112 or their representatives in realization of hostile activity against the Republic of Azerbaijan) of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic. On 21 October 2021, the Baku City Sabayil District Court, having considered the case at a closed judicial session, issued a ruling to impose on Sardar Babayev a preventive measure in the form of arrest for a period of 6 months. The period of detention in custody during the investigation has been subsequently extended several times Sentence: On 28 September 2023, the Baku City Court for Serious Crimes sentenced to 17 years in prison Judge: Ahmad Quliyev Place of detention: Penal Colony № 1 at the Boyuk Shor settlement in Baku City Nizami District Conclusion: Sardar Babayev, 49 years old, also known as Sheikh Sardar Hajihasanly, is a very popular theologian, especially in the southern Azerbaijan. His Friday sermons at the mosque in Masally have always been popular. He has already been convicted for that in February 2017. After his release in February 2020, he founded the website maide.az, where he published not only religious content, but also materials on socio-political issues. When in 2021 Azerbaijani-Iranian relations began to deteriorate and there were detentions and arrests among the Shiite believers, S.Babayev was one of the first victims of the campaign; on 19 October 2021, the State Security Service arrested him along with 4 other members of the public association "Spiritual Figures of Azerbaijan" on charges of treason and espionage in favour of Iran. Babayev denied the charge. His lawyer, Javad Javadov, told the journalists that, "Sardar Babayev was accused of the state treason in the form of espionage in favour of Iran. Even at the stage of the investigation he stated that the charges were far-fetched, and he was a victim of the deterioration of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations. Babayev refused to testify in court as a sign of protest. His guilt was not proved in the court either by the witness testimonies or by other evidence. The man was convicted simply on the basis of subjective inferences of the investigation representatives". At the same time, the defence lawyer abstained from commenting on the details of the prosecution, as the trial was held in private and the lawyer has non-disclosure obligations. According to him, the defence intends to file an appeal against the verdict. ARRESTED ON NARDARAN CASE Explanation about Nardaran case and Muslim Unity Movement There are arrested at different times and in different places and are the victims of political repressions of regime that brooks no dissent and criticism. There are all residents of Nardaran village which is located 40 km from Baku, has low standards of living and acute unemployment problem. One of the most respected by Shiites mosques, founded in the 8th Century, is located in Nardaran. Nardaran differs from other Baku villages with its religiosity. In 2000, 2002, and 2006, the residents of Nardaran held peaceful protests with socio- economic demands. In June 2002, police carried out military operation in the village, as a result of which 28 people were injured, one died. 23 people were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment on falsified charges; in espionage in favour of Iran, in attempt of violent change of power, and etc. However, as a result of the active work of human rights defenders, none of them remained in the custody after 2005. 113 On 26 November 2015, there was another police operation in Nardaran. Armed with automatic weapons, the police entered the village and opened heavy fire. As a result, 6 people were killed, including two police officers. Dozens of citizens were arrested. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and General Prosecutor’s Office issued the joint statement, in which they explained the use of firearms against the villagers as an operation necessary to neutralise a criminal armed group that functioned under a religious cover, which planned mass riots, terrorist acts and destabilisation of the socio-political situation in the republic. On 19 July 2016, the trial of 18 defendants in the Nardaran case was held in the Baku Grave Crimes Court. During the trial all the accused testified that both the policemen and four residents of Nardaran were killed by the police officers. On the trial defendants informed that the police beaten them to death in a car in which they were transported to the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (MDCOC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The accused told about brutal tortures to which they were subjected in the MDCOC. All appeals of lawyers to the Prosecutor's Office to the need of investigation of the facts of tortures and crimes of law enforcement officers were ignored. Tale Bagirzade testified that he was beaten and tortured more than 30 days so he testified against leader of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan Ali Karimli and chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces Jamil Hasanli. During the trial in the Baku Grave Crimes Court, the accused refused the primary testimony given during the investigation, indicating that they had testified under torture. The majority of those arrested had no lawyers, all witnesses against them were police, and many of believers were convicted without trial. But when conducting trials, there were no evidence against the accused presented at these trials. Arrested on 26 November 2015 believers headed by the Chairman of the Muslim Unity Movement Tale Bagirzade