The court in Baku tightened the detention regime for Iqbal Abilov.

The Garadagh District Court of Baku ruled to transfer Talysh culture researcher Iqbal Abilov to a closed-type prison for one year instead of the three years requested by the correctional institution's administration. Abilov rejected the charges of disciplinary violations, linked the persecution to wearing a T-shirt with a poem in the Talysh language, and stated his intention to appeal the court's decision.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on September 15, it became known that the Garadagh District Court of Baku postponed the consideration of the correctional institution No. 12's administration's request to tighten the detention regime for Talysh culture researcher Iqbal Abilov. The defense stated that the researcher was not familiarized with the documents regarding the alleged disciplinary violations. Abilov was detained in 2024 on charges of collaborating with the Armenian special services, and subsequently sentenced to 18 years in prison for treason and inciting national hatred. The researcher's relatives associate his criminal prosecution with the study of Talysh culture.

A hearing on the correctional institution No. 12's administration's request to tighten the detention regime for Talysh culture researcher Iqbal Abilov took place at the Garadagh District Court of Baku on November 2. The researcher spoke in his native Talysh language, and his speech was translated into Azerbaijani by a translator engaged by the defense, according to a message received by the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" from the Public Committee for the Protection of Iqbal Abilov's Rights.

The charges brought by the correctional institution's administration regarding disciplinary violations are unfounded, Abilov stated. According to him, he was not asked for explanations regarding several disciplinary decisions, nor were the relevant documents provided or shown to him.

"One cannot remain silent and submit to injustice. Therefore, even if it seems to some as quixotic and it yields no results, I cannot remain silent," the researcher stated, as quoted by the committee.

Abilov demanded to interrogate other prisoners as witnesses and to examine the surveillance camera recordings to verify the administration's claims. The full text of his speech, distributed by the committee, includes accusations that the researcher called unfounded.

"The correctional institution claims that I was inclined to 'create disorder among the convicts, to exert my influence over the weak-willed convicts, to commit actions aimed at inciting national hatred and enmity,' and so on. If I indeed committed such actions among the convicts, then to confirm this, we must hear the testimonies of the convicts themselves. I demand that we invite them here. All these accusations are unfounded," Abilov stated.

The researcher also reported that on the first day after arriving at correctional institution No. 12, he was placed in a punishment cell for five days, falsely accused of obstructing a personal search.

Separately, Abilov addressed the incident with the T-shirt that had a poem written in the Talysh language. According to him, on July 9 of this year, he was punished with four days in a punishment cell for allegedly refusing to take off the T-shirt during a search.

"On July 9, 2026, I was punished with four days in a punishment cell at Baku Investigative Detention Center No. 1. The ruling states that during the search, the detention center staff demanded that I take off the T-shirt, and I refused to take it off and 'was unruly,'" Abilov stated.

The researcher explained that the T-shirt, which he had worn two days prior at the court hearing, was among his belongings. He refused to hand it over to the detention center staff because it was his personal item. According to Abilov, the inscription on the T-shirt was considered by the institution's staff as calls against the state.

"Since the T-shirt was my personal item, I refused to hand it over. I repeat, contrary to what is written in the ruling, the T-shirt was not on me, but among my belongings. The ruling states that there were 'calls against the state' on the T-shirt. In fact, it had lines in Talysh and Azerbaijani Turkish: 'When the people lose their reason, they condemn their homeland to death.' There are no calls in these lines. I demand that these words be subjected to expertise. Then I was taken to the institution's management, violence was applied to me, the T-shirt was taken away, and I was placed in a punishment cell. In protest, I declared a hunger strike," Abilov stated.

The use of force, prolonged detention in a punishment cell, and the request to tighten the detention regime were regarded by the researcher as violations of freedom of expression and discrimination based on nationality.

"This violates my freedom of expression and proves that both I and my native language are subjected to discrimination," Abilov stated.

According to him, during his detention in punishment cells, his health deteriorated, and his requests for medical assistance and examination were not met.

Abilov demanded to reject the correctional institution's administration's request to transfer him to a closed-type prison. The court partially granted the request, ruling to transfer the researcher to a closed-type prison for one year instead of three.

The defense intends to appeal this court decision, the Public Committee for the Protection of Iqbal Abilov's Rights informed the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

"Caucasian Knot" currently does not have a comment from the Penitentiary Service of Azerbaijan.