Russia extradited Talysh political figure Abbasov to Azerbaijan

ArmInfo.  Yesterday Russia  extradited to Azerbaijan a political figure of Transcaucasia, one of  the leaders of the Talysh national movement, the chairman of the  movement "For the Revival of Tallish> Fakhraddin Abbasov, who lived  in political emigration in Russia. About extradition of Abbasov  report Azerbaijani media with reference to the press center of the  State Security Service of Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that even on  February 28, the media reported on the disappearance of Abbasov from  the remand prison.

On February 28, Amnesty International made a statement demanding that  the Russian authorities promptly conduct an impartial and efficient  investigation into reports of the disappearance of an Azerbaijani  opposition figure from the remand prison.

Amnesty International at the Talysh National Academy in Minsk  reported that on Wednesday morning, February 27, some law enforcement  officers came to the detention center where Abbasov was detained.   They allegedly submitted an official letter from the Prosecutor  General's Office, which ordered the release of Abbasov. They took the  oppositionist with them. At the same time, his personal belongings  remained in isolation. Later Abbasov's lawyer confirmed this  information.

On February 28 at 3:00pm a trial in the case of Abbasov was to take  place. The court in connection with the disappearance of the  applicant could not establish its location and postponed the hearing  to March 18.  "First of all, Abbasov was not originally supposed to  be arrested for further extradition to Azerbaijan.

Russia had to comply with its international obligations under  international human rights law, prohibiting the deportation and  extradition of persons to countries where they would be at risk of  torture and cruel treatment. If he was really released for further  transfer to the Azerbaijani authorities, this can be regarded as a  gross violation of international law. Moreover, this goes against the  official position of the Supreme Court of Russia, which in 2012  ordered lower courts to respect Russia's obligations under  international law and not to satisfy extradition requests if there  are fears that the extradited could be subjected to torture and other  ill-treatment>, director of Amnesty International in Russia Natalia  Zvyagina said.

To recall Abbasov was detained on September 6, 2018 by the Moscow  police. The reason for his arrest was the demand of the Main  Investigative Department of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan,  which announced the policy on the interstate search.

In Azerbaijan, on July 12, 2018, a criminal case was initiated  against Abbasov under articles 281.2 ("Repeated public calls for a  change in the constitutional order or violation of the territorial  integrity of the Azerbaijan Republic") and 283.1 ("Incitement of  national hostility") of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.  Two days  later, the Sabail District Court of Baku arrested Abbasov in absentia  for 4 months and declared him on the interstate wanted list. In  Azerbaijan, he faces imprisonment for up to 5 years.

According to Turan, Abbasov is an associate of Alikram Hummatov - the  leader of the self- proclaimed Talysh-Mughan Republic. The historian  Fakhraddin Abbasov  in 1981-1995 He taught at the Belarusian State  University, in 1993-1995. He was the editor of the "Tolyshi Sado  "newspaper In 1993, during the military-political crisis in  Azerbaijan, Abbasov became one of the leaders of the Talysh  separatist movement, taking the post of chairman of the parliament of  the Talysh- Mughan Republic, proclaimed in southern Azerbaijan. In  1995 he moved to Russia, where he published the newspaper "Talysh".  In May 2005, he took part in an international conference on the  Talysh problem in Armenia. In Azerbaijan, the conference was regarded  as support for separatism.