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| Residents of Azerbaijan convicted of involvement in a radical group in Syria |
| 2023-06-16 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [KavkazUzel] The Baku court has sentenced members of the radical group "Army of Allah" in Syria, Vasif Einiev and Shikhzade Mammadov. Both are sentenced to seven years in prison, despite remorse. According to the prosecution, Einiev and Mammadov went to the Syrian city of Idlib, where they joined the group, in which until February 2022 they took part in the battles and carried out guard duty. They were arrested in January at the airport on their return to Baku from Syria. Vasif Einiev, a 29-year-old resident of Shirvan, told the court that since mid-2019 he began to adhere to the ideas of Salafism. In March 2021, on the social network Instagram, Einiev met the brothers Fagan and Hagan Geylerov, who suggested that he go to Syria to "war against the infidels." On May 31, 2021, Einiev, together with the Geilerov brothers, flew to Ankara, where via the Telegram messenger he contacted an Azerbaijani nicknamed "Abu Jabir", who ordered them to go to Antakya, from where they were illegally transported to Syria. There, Einiev and the Feyzievs were met by ethnic Azerbaijanis who called themselves "Abu Jabir", "Abu Rayyan" and "Ali", who helped them get to Idlib, haqqin.az writes. "We arrived in the mountainous village of Yamalia, from the height of which the Turkish border was visible. Upon arrival at the village, my phone was taken away and placed in some house, where, in addition to Azerbaijanis, another 50 people of different nationalities lived ... A certain Elnur, nicknamed " Abu Ahmed," Einiev said in court. According to him, for almost half a year he was part of a combat group that defended its territory from another illegal group - Jabhat al-Nusra (recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia). "We were taught how to handle weapons, however, the weapons themselves were not issued. On October 25, 2021, Jabhat al-Nusra militants * attacked us. To defend myself, I was forced to buy a Kalashnikov assault rifle for $ 70 and take a place on the defensive," - said the defendant. According to the defendant, al-Nusra militants * opened fire from heavy machine guns and artillery, after which Abu Ahmed decided to surrender. As a result of the clash, several Azerbaijanis died, and the survivors were held captive for two weeks. “We were demanded to join the ranks of Al Nusra *, threatening to hand us over to the Turkish police if we did not agree. Some of our militants agreed, the rest, including me, spent three months in captivity, after which I and two other Dagestanis were handed over to hands of the Turkish police. And six Azerbaijanis remained in the Jabhat-al-Nusra group*. I am very sorry for what I did," Einiev said. A 28-year-old resident of the Hajikabul district, Shihzade Mammadov, nicknamed "Abdulhey", told the court that he went to Syria with childhood friends ... In Syria, where they got illegally ... at the end of 2021, their positions were attacked by the Jabhat-An- Nusra"*. "After three days of fighting, several people were killed, and we surrendered. I am very sorry for what I did," the defendant said, quoted by haqqin.az. Vasif Einiev and Shikhzade Mammadov were each sentenced to seven years in a penal colony. The "Caucasian Knot" also wrote that in February, brothers Mirjavad and Mirjalal Salakhov from Azerbaijan were arrested on charges of participating in the activities of the Islamic State terrorist organization in Syria. And earlier, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan announced the detention of an alleged accountant of a terrorist organization. |
| Posted by:badanov |