27 Years in Prison for Two Azerbaijani Citizens Accused of Spying for Iran

The Heavy Crimes Court of Azerbaijan sentenced two citizens of the country to 27 years in prison for "collaborating with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and espionage." These two citizens, identified as "Faiq Qurbanov" and "Seymour Rezazadeh," were each sentenced to 14 and 13 years in prison, respectively, on Thursday, February 5. The indictment states that they were arrested last year by the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry and were tried under Article 274 of the Criminal Code (treason). According to Azerbaijani news agencies, "these two were recruited by agents of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and collected confidential information about the situation of religious believers in the country, certain military institutions, and the Turkish consulate in Lankaran, which was transferred to Iranian security agents." On August 1 of this year, the Heavy Crimes Court of Azerbaijan also sentenced two citizens of this country to life imprisonment for espionage for Iran. These individuals had also been arrested by the National Security Ministry in 2013. According to Azerbaijani news agencies, Hafiz Valiyev and Aghamir Aghamirov were ordered by Iranian security agencies to photograph, film, and gather information on Israeli nationals residing in Baku and their places of residence. In December of last year, the official website of the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry reported the arrest of four citizens of this country who had smuggled weapons from Iran into the country. Azerbaijan also arrested an Iranian citizen named Bahram Feyzi, who was accused of recruiting Azerbaijani citizens to collaborate with Iranian security forces. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's second presidential term, amid rising tensions between the two countries, Azerbaijan arrested 22 of its citizens on charges of espionage, attempted assassination, and connections with security agencies and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. However, after Hassan Rouhani was elected president of Iran, and following the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Tehran, as well as Rouhani's visit to Baku this year, signs of improved relations and reduced tensions between the two countries have emerged. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is scheduled to make an official visit to Baku on February 15. In this context, a 15-year prison sentence was issued for an Iranian accused of planning an assassination at the Iranian consulate in Baku, while the detained Iranian citizen in Baku denied his terrorist charges. Iran identified "a northern neighbor" as the source of an Israeli drone flight. There was a "raid" by prosecutor's office agents on the office of Radio Free Europe in Baku, and the U.S. expressed deep concern over the raid on the Radio Liberty office in Baku.