Azerbaijani man sentenced for ‘treason’ after speaking with Armenian historian, jailed for 18 years

Igbal Abilov was jailed in Azerbaijan over his Skype exchanges with Armenian academic Professor Garnik Asatrian.

Igbal Abilov, an Azerbaijani scholar and lecturer at Belarusian State University, was sentenced to 18 years in jail over his online communication with Armenian academic Professor Garnik Asatrian, reported the Armenian Report.

Scholar and lecturer Igbal Abilov was jailed for 18 years in Azerbaijan. (Screengrab (X))

The harsh verdict came after Abilov was found guilty of “high treason” and “collaborating with Armenian special services.” The outlet, however, reported that Asatrian is not a political figure or military strategist. He is a professor known for researching languages, cultures, and ethnic histories. The professor works at Yerevan State University and the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University.

“It’s been exactly nine months since our son was taken from us,” Shahib Abilov, father of Igbal Abilov, told Jam News after his arrest. The 36-year-old jailed researcher was involved in studies about the national culture of the Talysh people in Azerbaijan. He was arrested in July 2024 on charges of treason. He reportedly exchanged messages with Asatrian over Skype, which the government claimed "incite interethnic hostility”.

Shahib Abilov on his son’s arrest:

Shahib Abilov recounted that his son was interrogated for hours by the State Security Service. The authorities said Iqbal Avilov's phone was tapped despite him not living in Azerbaijan.

“But then they let him go. He came out smiling, just as we were used to seeing him. They told me: ‘He’s a scholar — let him do his research, not get involved in other matters.’ I replied: ‘But he isn’t involved in anything else,’” Shahib told Jam News.

“On 19 July, we received a call saying, ‘Tell him to come to Masalli (260 km from Baku) to collect his documents.’ We thought — thank God, there is justice,” he recalled.

“We arrived there and waited by the gates while Igbal went inside. Barely five minutes later, a car sped past at high speed. We grew anxious and went inside. We asked, ‘What happened?’ They told us, ‘Yes, he was taken away.’ After that, we notified the Ombudsman’s Office and returned to Baku. There we were officially told that he had been arrested. ‘For what?’ I asked. They replied: ‘We don’t know. It’s a political case’,” Shahib recollected.

As per a report by the Armenian Report, Azerbaijan has tightened its security measures and its crackdown on people it sees as a political threat, including journalists and activists. Abilov's arrest comes amid the existing tension between the nations following the 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijan military’s takeover of an Armenian region in 2023.