“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2024
2024
The study of the policy towards national minorities in Azerbaijan has great scientific importance. By studying the policy pursued towards the Talysh people in Azerbaijan, it can be said that the main target are Talysh intellectuals as ideological leaders.
Below are presented Talysh public figures, historians, and activists who have been persecuted by the Azerbaijani authorities:
Fahraddin Abbasov
Fahraddin Abbasov, an ethnic Talysh scientist, historian, and political scientist, was born in 1956 in the village of Blaband in the Lerik region. He is the author of several dictionaries and other works written in the Talysh language. He graduated from the Faculty of History at Azerbaijan State University[1] and was the editor-in-chief of the "Talysh" newspaper published in Saint Petersburg[2].
There is contradicting information regarding Abbasov's arrest. As early as March 1, 2019, Azerbaijan's State Security Service (DTX - Dövlət Təhlükəsizliyi Xidməti) released information about Abbasov's arrest, stating that Abbasov was arrested at Baku's Heydar Aliyev Airport. However, his relatives insisted that Azerbaijani special services arrested Abbasov in a foreign country and transferred him to Azerbaijan in February 2019[3].
The alternative report of the Talysh Public Council, addressed to the Council of Europe, also states that the ethnic Talysh activist was arrested in the Russian Federation and then transferred to the Republic of Azerbaijan[4].
Abbasov was found guilty under Articles 281.2 (public appeals against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan), 283.1 (excitation of national, racial or religious hostility), and 274 (state betray) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan[5].
Fahraddin Abbasov is one of those Talysh activists who was killed in prison on the orders of the Azerbaijani authorities.
It should be noted that Talysh media outlets were raising alarms about Abbasov's safety in Gobustan prison before his killing. Rumors were spreading in Azerbaijan that a coronavirus epidemic was raging in Gobustan prison, where Abbasov was being held. According to the Talyshes, the spread of these rumors was creating a basis to later justify his killing[6].
Abbasov, while in prison, as if sensing the impending danger, had said: "After I was transferred to Gobustan prison, representatives of the investigative bodies came to 'talk' to me. They said they would create unbearable conditions for me, which would force me to commit suicide... [7]"
"Even now, my life is threatened. I feel it and expect it at any moment. For this reason, I declare the following: any events that will happen to me and lead to my death will occur against my will. I want to tell all my loved ones and supporters that under no circumstances should they believe that I have committed suicide.[8]"
It is noteworthy that the Azerbaijani side claims that Fahraddin Abbasov allegedly attempted suicide in his prison cell on November 9, 2020. Prison staff reportedly came to his aid, transferring him to the medical and sanitary unit of the prison[9].
The reason given for the suicide is that as if F. Abbasov experienced a deep psychological shock in the final period of his imprisonment due to the successes of the Azerbaijani army. He reportedly committed suicide when he learned about the "liberation" of the city of Shushi[10].
Fahraddin Abbasov was the second Talysh intellectual killed in an Azerbaijani prison in recent years. Before him, in 2009, Talysh researcher, philologist, and professor Novruzali Mammadov was killed in prison[11].
Novruzali Mammadov, founder of the newspaper “Tolışi Sedo” («The Voice of Talyshes»)
Mammadov Novruzali was born in 1942 in the village of Erchivan in the Astara region of Azerbaijan. He graduated from the Faculty of English Philology at the University of Foreign Languages. Azerbaijan's National Security arrested him in 2007, and in 2009 he died under mysterious circumstances in an Azerbaijani penitentiary center[12].
Mammadov had worked at the Institute of Linguistics of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences as a department head and led the Talysh Cultural Center[13]. Simultaneously, he was the editor of the bilingual newspaper "Tolışi Sedo" ("Voice of the Talysh").
In 2007, Novruzali Mammadov was detained, tortured, and interrogated on suspicion of collaborating with Iranian intelligence[14]. N. Mammadov was sentenced in 2007 to 10 years in prison under Article 274 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (state betray), but he did not plead guilty[15]. He was killed in prison. After the killing, the Azerbaijani authorities persecuted his family members.
After Mammadov's arrest, unknown individuals severely beat his son, Kemran Mammadov, who died the very next day after the incident. The other son, Emil Mammadov, was involved in a car accident[16]. The only survivor from the family is Novruzali Mammadov's wife, Mariam Mammadova, who was forced to leave the country and seek political asylum in the Kingdom of the Netherlands[17].
The film "The Tragedy of a Family", which tells the story of Novruzali Mammadov and his family, will be screened at the "KIFF" International Film Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands[18].
Young activist Aslan Gurbanov
Young activist Aslan Gurbanov was arrested in July 2020 for his social media activities and for conducting propaganda against the state on media platforms. In 2021, he was sentenced by the court to 7 years in prison under Articles 281 (public appeals against the state) and 283.1 (excitation of national, racial or religious hostility) of the criminal code[19]. Before Gurbanov's sentence enter into force, he was transferred to a penitentiary institution where he was subjected to torture. The Azerbaijani authorities presented him as a separatist. Family members noted that such a qualification would serve as a basis for killing him in prison in the future[20].
Talysh actvist Elvin Irshadov
Elvin Irshadov, an ethnic Talysh born in 1990 in the Astara region (later settled in the Lankaran region), like many young Talysh, was long under the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies for his activities on social networks[21]. The young Talysh man was voicing the issues of his nation through his social media pages[22]. The video published by Irshadov shows the destruction of values related to the Talysh people by the current Azerbaijani authorities. The Talysh activist presents aAzerbaijan history textbook published in 1995 that mentions the Talysh Khanate, contrasting it with the content of modern textbooks where the Talysh Khanate has been renamed to the Lankaran Khanate[23].
This textbook is a 9th grade history textbook of Azerbaijan, published in 1995 and approved by the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan. That is, it was published during the presidency of Heydar Aliyev. Why do I want to refer to this book, because the historians writing the history of Azerbaijan recently claim that there was no khanate and state unit called "Talysh" in history. We will now see how baseless these claims are. In this textbook, there is a separate section on khanates, titled Khanates of Yerevan, Nakhichevan and Talysh.
The Talysh Khanate occupied a unique place within the Safavid state and sometimes had autonomy. As you can see, in the book the Talysh Khanate is mentioned as a separate administrative-territorial unit...
I want to understand what has changed since 1995. Why is the name of the Talysh Khanate being distorted under the name of Lankaran Khanate? By the way, no khanate's name has been changed in the book, only the name of the Talysh Khanate has been altered. Of course, they cannot justify all this because there is no proper justification. In reality, the answer is simple: the Talysh Khanate and the Talysh name are omitted from history[24]," concludes the Talysh activist.
From what has been said, it becomes clear that in Azerbaijan, the Talysh people, and in general, the national minorities living in this country are deprived of the right to preserve their ethnic identity and national character. As the facts show, they are consistently and periodically subjected to persecution, arrests, and torture, especially if they try to speak out about preserving their ethnic identity, freedom of expression, and the protection of their civil rights.
Caricature by Gunduz Aghaev
[1] Stimulxəbər.az, Fəxrəddin Abbasovun erməni kəşfiyyatı ilə şok planları – FAKTLAR:
https://stimulxeber.az/manset/30958-fexreddin-abbasovun-ermeni-keshfiyyati-ile-shok-planlari-faktlar.html (accessed 12.05.2024):
[2] Ibid.
[3] BBC NEWS Azərbaycanca, "Dövlətə xəyanətdə" ittiham olunan Fəxrəddin Abbasov "sağ-salamatdır": https://www.bbc.com/azeri/azerbaijan-52286801 (accessed 12.05.2024):
[4] Azərbaycan Respublikasında Avropa Şurasının “Milli azlıqların müdafiəsi haqqında çərçivə Sazişinin” talış xalqına münasibətdə 2016-2021-ci illər ərzində realizəsi ilə bağlı Azərbaycan Talışların İctimai Şurasının hazırladığı Alternativ Hesabat, səhifə 11:
[5] Turan.az, Fəxrəddin Abbasov həbsxanada intihar edib: https://turan.az/az/cemiyyet/fexreddin-abbasov-hebsxanada-intihar-edib (accessed 12.05.2024):
[6] Talyshistantimes.com, SOS! ГОТОВИТСЯ УБИЙСТВО ФАХРАДДИНА АБОСЗОДА В ГОБУСТАНСКОЙ ТЮРЬМЕ: https://www.talyshistantimes.com/content/covid (accessed 12.05.2024):
[7] Известный талышский активист скончался в тюрьме Азербайджана, 13 ноября 2020: https://oc-media.org/ru/izvestnyy-talyshskiy-aktivist-skonchalsya-v-tyurme-azerbaydzhana/ (accessed 06.05.2024):
[8] Oc-media.org, Известный талышский активист скончался в тюрьме Азербайджана: https://oc-media.org/ru/izvestnyy-talyshskiy-aktivist-skonchalsya-v-tyurme-azerbaydzhana/ (accessed 12.05.2024):
[9] Report.az, Penitensiar xidmət: Fəxrəddin Abbasov Şuşanın azad olunmasından dərin psixoloji sarsıntı keçirərək intihar edib: https://report.az/hadise/penitensiar-xidmet-fexreddin-abbasovun-intihari-ile-bagli-melumat-yaydi/ (accessed 12.05.2024):
[10] Ibid.
[11] Azərbaycan Respublikasında Avropa Şurasının “Milli azlıqların müdafiəsi haqqında çərçivə Sazişinin” talış xalqına münasibətdə 2016-2021-ci illər ərzində realizəsi ilə bağlı Azərbaycan Talışların İctimai Şurasının hazırladığı Alternativ Hesabat, səhifə 11:
[12] Avesta Talysh, Talış milli fəalı Novruzəli Məmmədov və ailəsini necə öldürdülər? – GÜNAHKARLARIN SİYAHISI: https://avestatalysh.com/2016/08/18/talis-milli-f%C9%99ali-novruz%C9%99li-m%C9%99mm%C9%99dov-v%C9%99-ail%C9%99sini-nec%C9%99-oldurdul%C9%99r-gunahkarlarin-siyahisi/ (Մուտք 13.05.2024):
[13] https://www.azadliq.org/a/1802349.html (accessed 13.05.2024):
[14] Amerikaninsesi.org, Avropa məhkəməsi Novruzəli Məmmədovun işi üzrə Azərbaycanı cərimələyib: https://www.amerikaninsesi.org/a/avropa-m%C9%99hk%C9%99m%C9%99si-novruz%C9%99li-m%C9%99mm%C9%99dovun-işi-üzr%C9%99-az%C9%99rbaycanı-c%C9%99rim%C9%99l%C9%99yib/4797920.html (accessed18.05.2024):
[15] Irfs.org, NOVRUZƏLİ MƏMMƏDOV DOĞULDUĞU KƏNDDƏ DƏFN EDİLİB: https://www.irfs.org/az/news-feed/novruzali-mammadov-buried-in-his-native-village/ (accessed 13.05.2024):
[16] Irfs.org, NOVRUZƏLİ MƏMMƏDOV DOĞULDUĞU KƏNDDƏ DƏFN EDİLİB: https://www.irfs.org/az/news-feed/novruzali-mammadov-buried-in-his-native-village/ (accessed 13.05.2024):
[17] Ibid.
[18] MEYDAN.TV çəkilmiş film festivalda nümayiş olunacaq: https://d9mc3ts4czbpr.cloudfront.net/az/article/novruzeli-memmedov-haqqinda-cekilmis-film-festivalda-numayis-olunacaq/ (accessed13.05.2024):
[19]Azadlıq.org, Bloqer qapalı həbsxanaya göndərilir: https://www.azadliq.org/a/bloqer-aslan-qurbanov/31629721.html (accessed 29.05.2024):
[20] Azərbaycan Respublikasında Avropa Şurasının “Milli azlıqların müdafiəsi haqqında çərçivə Sazişinin” talış xalqına münasibətdə 2016-2021-ci illər ərzində realizəsi ilə bağlı Azərbaycan Talışların İctimai Şurasının hazırladığı Alternativ Hesabat:
[21] Azadlıq.org, Sosial şəbəkə fəalı həbs olunub: https://www.azadliq.org/a/sosial-ş%C9%99b%C9%99k%C9%99-f%C9%99alı-h%C9%99bs-olunub/30622049.html (accessed 31.05.2024):
[22] Azadlıq.org, Sosial şəbəkə fəalı həbs olunub: https://www.azadliq.org/a/sosial-ş%C9%99b%C9%99k%C9%99-f%C9%99alı-h%C9%99bs-olunub/30622049.html (accessed 31.05.2024):
[23] Infoteka24.ru, В Азербайджане уничтожают любое упоминание о талышах: задержан талышский активист Эльвин Иршадов: https://infoteka24.ru/2020/05/19/63748/ (accessed 31.05. 2024):
[24] Ibid.