Azerbaijani Popular Front Part (APFP) activist E. Abdullaev’s sentence has been reduced to 2.5 years in prison.
The student was arrested on January 8th of 2015 after completing an exam. Police claim to have detained Abdullaev and discovered 3 grams of heroine in his possession. Abdullaev, however, asserts that the charges against him have been purely political in nature due to his activities in the opposititionist, APFP party.
In response to his appeal, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan reclassified the charges against him from article 23.4.4 (drug trafficking on a large scale) of the criminal codex, to 234.1 (illegal possession of drugs). As a result, his sentence was reduced from 6 to 2.5 years imprisonment.
Despite the lightening of the charges, the defense disagreed with the verdict and demanded the complete acquittal of the activist. The decision of the court will be forwarded to the European Court of Human Rights, reports Turan.
Amnesty International recently announced Abdullayev a “prisoner of conscience.”
