Council of Europe

Commissioner for Human Rights.

In Azerbaijan, a Talysh-origin scientist, Igbal Abilov, has been arrested. 

On June 22, Igbal Abilov was summoned to the Masalli district department of the State Security Service (SSS) and was interrogated for six hours. On June 27, while attempting to fly from Baku to Minsk, he was not allowed to board the plane, and his passport and phone were confiscated. On July 22, Abilov was again called to the Masalli district department of the SSS under the pretext of returning his passport and phone. However, without notifying his parents, Igbal Abilov was transported to Baku and placed in a detention center. Relatives reported that Abilov, who has lived in Belarus since childhood, had arrived in Azerbaijan on June 14 to attend a cousin's wedding. They believe that Abilov's detention is based on fabricated charges, with the real reason for his persecution being his research on various national minorities, including the Talysh in Azerbaijan.

On July 24, 2024, in Azerbaijan, the young Talysh-origin scientist Igbal Abilov was arrested under a fabricated case by judge Rena Gafarova (decision number 4(009)-388/2024). He is charged with absurd offenses: treason under Article 274 and incitement of national hatred under Article 281. Igbal's work was purely academic and research-oriented, focusing on the history and culture of indigenous peoples, including the Talysh. Igbal Abilov was born in Azerbaijan but spent most of his life in Belarus, where he also received higher education and began his scientific activities.

There is no doubt that Abilov's arrest is purely political. Azerbaijani authorities systematically persecute representatives of indigenous peoples to suppress any research activities aimed at studying their history, culture, and language.

Igbal faces up to 20 years in prison under Articles 274 (Treason) and 283 (Incitement of national hatred). Previously, Talysh activists Novruzali Mammadov and Fahradin Abbaszoda (Abbasov), who were either died or were killed in custody, were arrested under similar charges.

Biography of Igbal Abilov

Igbal Abilov (b. 1989) - a Talysh researcher and educator, a scientific associate of the Talysh National Academy, an organization dedicated to studying the Talysh and their culture. He has lived in Belarus since childhood. In 2012, he graduated from the Faculty of International Relations at the Belarusian State University, completed his master's degree in 2013, and his postgraduate studies in 2016. He is the author of books, publications, and essays and has participated in scientific conferences on the history and ethnography of the South Caucasus, Turkey, and Iran.

From 2017-2021, he was a lecturer at the Faculty of International Relations at the Belarusian State University. From 2021-2023, he taught at the Belarusian Institute of Law.

He is the chief editor of the "Bulletin of the Talysh National Academy" - an international scientific journal dedicated to the academic study of the Talysh. The TNA was registered in Riga (Latvia) in 2010 and has continued its activities in Vilnius (Lithuania) since 2017 under the name "Talyšų Nacionalinė Akademija."

The Talysh National Academy is purely a scientific organization and steers clear of political activity and even statements.

An incomplete list of scientific works by Igbal Abilov:

1.   The Herald of the National Academy of Talysh, 2020

2.   Book Editor:  Talysh Language: Phonetics, Morphology, Syntax, 2019 (Authors: Fachraddin Aboszode, Shirin Avaz Sadychzode)

3.   Population of the Borderland of Georgia, Armenia and Turkey (Notes on the results of the expedition, 2014). Iqbal Abilov, E/ Gulyaeva, E/ Zacharova (Russian language)

4.   The Herald of the National Academy of Talysh, 2011 

5.   Essays on the History and Ethnography of Talysh, 2011 ( Очерки по истории и этнографии Талыша, 2011 год)

6.   A study on gestures as nonverbal lacunas and their accompanying stable expressions on the example of Turkish language.2015.  Igbal Abilov, O. Sarigoz

We request your assistance in securing the release of Igbal Abilov from detention, otherwise, his grim fate is sealed with a possible fatal outcome.

Tural Mikayilov (Journalist)

July 24, 2024.