Iqbal Abilov Responds to Conviction and Media Smear Campaign

Iqbal Abilov

The editor-in-chief of “Talysh Milli Akademiyasinin xeberleri” and researcher Iqbal Abilov, who has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, responded to a video about him released by pro-government media. Abilov called these materials a “smear campaign,” rejected the accusations, and made sharp criticisms about the investigation, the trial, and the country’s legal environment.

Iqbal Abilov, sentenced to 18 years in prison and head of “Talysh Milli Akademiyasinin xeberleri,” recently commented on video material about him spread in pro-government media. His relatives shared his response with “Abzas Media.”

Abilov said he wasn’t surprised when he heard about a new smear campaign against him. He said if an operation results in no evidence at trial, it should be seen as a “legal, intellectual, and moral fiasco”:

“When I heard about a new smear campaign against me in government-controlled media, I just smiled. This shows the campaign’s authors understand one thing: no reasonable person believes their claims. That’s why—once again—they’re trying to convince everyone, even themselves, that they arrested a Talysh scholar and didn't fabricate a fake criminal case, that they actually ran a ‘successful operation.’ If this ‘operation’ ended at trial with zero evidence, leading to a legal, intellectual, and moral fiasco, then honestly, the whole thing deserves to make it into textbooks.”

In his remarks, Abilov also recalled dialogs he said happened during the investigation:

“While listening to what’s being said about the film dedicated to me, I remembered a conversation I had with the head investigator from the State Security Service’s investigation unit. He offered me a short sentence in exchange for a ‘confessional’ statement (at first eight years, then three, and finally, when the investigation was desperate, just one year). During the conversation, he expressed surprise at my ‘naive faith’ in the earth being round. He claimed the earth is flat and that ‘there are other continents beyond Antarctica.’ If a person—or a security service—believes the earth is flat, I can’t say I’m shocked by the accusations against me.”

He also made critical statements about the legal climate in the country, calling the investigation and trial “absurd theater”:

“When dozens of independent journalists are behind bars, when talking heads calling themselves journalists sit in front of cameras and read pre-written slander against them and other political prisoners, when honest and principled lawyers constantly face attacks and threats of arrest and are expelled from the Bar Association (which means they’re banned from their profession), when ‘slave’ lawyers visit their ‘clients’ only after being summoned by the investigation (on the day I was detained, one such lawyer asked the investigator instead of me, ‘Haven’t you cleaned out the southern region yet?’), when ‘judges’ break all laws and procedures to issue forged verdicts—I’m no longer surprised by what an operative said to me a month before my arrest: ‘Just staying in Azerbaijan is a punishment for you.’ Because in this absurd theater, criminals plant fear and discord by jailing those who speak about their crimes, hoping to hide their own misdeeds. Those who call me a ‘traitor’ are really the ones betraying the state and the idea of statehood.”

The researcher also criticized targeting his academic work and commented on the accusations directed at him due to his activity in Talysh studies:

“Investigators—without any qualifications for it—were trying to do the same thing within the criminal case framework. I recall during my first interrogation (a month before I was arrested) the operatives were annoyed that I was smiling: ‘Why aren’t you afraid? You should be. Don’t you see we’re traumatizing you?’ But how can you not smile when someone who doesn’t even grasp the difference between the words ‘humanitarian’ and ‘humanist’ tells you, ‘We’re treating you humanely?’

How can you not smile when those persecuting you for your Talysh studies are too scared to say the word ‘Talysh’ in the so-called film about you? Or when one investigator claims that calling a bakery ‘The Real Talysh Tandoor’ is ‘inciting ethnic hatred,’ and accuses you of that just for publishing academic work on your people’s history, culture, and language? Or when another investigator asks, ‘How many Talysh live in Azerbaijan? 500,000? A million?’ and, when you remind him that according to official stats, it’s just over 85,000, he instantly retracts his words—how can you help smiling at that?”

Iqbal Abilov also made an open call to the media and official bodies:

“If these media and investigative institutions think they can evaluate my academic work, maybe they should organize the country’s first Talysh Studies conference? I’d even participate remotely to listen to any professional criticism. Or these media outlets could remember their real job and come interview me, ask anything they like. Honestly, I don't think they’ll do it. Seems their role is to demolish today’s country and push it away from a brighter future. But the future is inevitable—a future where truth, law, and justice prevail.”

State Security Service officers detained Iqbal Abilov on July 22, 2024, in the village of Bala Kolatan, Masalli district. He’s been charged with high treason. On May 20, 2025, the Lankaran Serious Crimes Court sentenced him to 18 years in prison. On October 23, the Shirvan Court of Appeals upheld the verdict.

Abilov denies the charges and considers his activity scientific research. Several human rights organizations recognize him as a political prisoner.