On 3 August, the Centre for the Protection of Political Prisoners (CPPP) published an updated list of current political prisoners in Azerbaijan containing 151 people.
According to human rights activist Ogtay Gulaliyev
, nine people have been newly added, among them religious activists and members of the opposition Popular Front of Azerbaijan Party (PFAP).
Religious activist Shamkhal Eyvazov was arrested in April 2018 on charges of “illegal distribution of drugs”, an accusation often used by authorities to press charges against activists. Firudin Zeynalov was arrested in Ganja in autumn 2017. Even though in custody, he has also been charged in connection with the
July 2018 events in Ganja
.
The list of political activists now also includes PFAP activists, namely
Agil Maharramli
, Babek Hasanov, Ruslan Nasirli, the former head of the Gadabay District
Saleh Rustamov
and his nephew Vidadi Rustamli, as well as Orkhan Bakhishli, who was arrested in May on charges of illegal distribution of drugs.
Finally, one more person added to the list is
Abulfaz Bunyadov
, who was sentenced to 14 years in jail over the 2015 Nardaran events.
The CPPP will continue to look into the case of a group of people recently arrested and plans to hold an event on this topic very soon.
In January 2018, CPPP’s list of political prisoners included 161 people.
