The Ganja Court of Grave Crimes has sentenced Ismail Hasanov, 51, to three years and six months in prison after finding him guilty of participating in the activities of an armed group. Hasanov had fought with the Russian private military group Wagner in Ukraine for six months between 2022–2023.
Hasanov’s sentence was announced by the court on 28 November. He had originally been detained by the State Security Service in July.
According to the verdict, which OC Media has received a copy of, Hasanov had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for crimes committed in Russia in 2014. He served eight and a half years of his 12-year sentence, and although he twice petitioned to serve the remaining three years and six months in Azerbaijan, his request was denied.
In November 2022, Russian mercenary and leader of the Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin visited the prison where Hasanov was serving his sentence, offering detainees the opportunity to fight in Ukraine for six months. In exchange, he promised to pay each prisoner ₽91,100 ($1,200) in cash; additionally, the prisoners would gain their freedom and Russian citizenship. Those who agreed, including Hasanov and another Azerbaijani citizen, Ramil Aliyev, were then transported to Rostov.
Once there, Hasanov signed a contract with the Wagner Group, after which he was transferred to Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Luhansk region. There, he underwent 14 days of training in the use of various weapons and other military exercises.
Hasanov testified during the subsequent trial that he never engaged in direct combat with Ukrainian soldiers or attacked businesses, institutions, organisations, or individuals. His primary task was to evacuate dead and wounded Russian soldiers from the combat zone, he said.
On 25 May 2023 after serving his six-month term as a mercenary, he was transferred back to Rostov. There, members of the Wagner Group presented him with ₽911,800 ($11,900), as well as a medal and an honorary order for his participation in the war. He was also given a simple mobile phone and a SIM card.
According to the verdict delivered on 28 November, Hasanov’s brother, who was mentioned in the court document as ‘X3’, died on 9 January 2023 in the city of Bakhmut in Russian-occupied Ukrainian Donetsk. However, it was not clarified whether Hasanov’s brother had also fought against Ukraine, and whether he had been killed during a military operation or not.
Hasanov stated during the trial that he regretted his actions, claiming that he was unaware that his participation in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine would entail criminal liability. He therefore asked the court to reduce his sentence, noting additionally that he was the father of three minor children.
Human rights lawyer Yalchin Imanov told OC Media that Azerbaijan’s criminal code stipulates that a sentence imposed on an Azerbaijani citizen cannot exceed the maximum penalty provided for by the legislation of the foreign state where the crime was actually committed.
‘According to the criminal code of Ukraine, adopted in 2001, the maximum sentence for this act is two to five years’, Imanov said.
Therefore, the sentence imposed was three years and six months.
Hasanov is not the only Azerbaijani citizen to have fought for Russia in recent years.
On 7 November, Azerbaijani citizen Shahmar Orazjanzada, 32, was captured by Ukrainian troops. Like Hasanov, Orazjanzada had joined the Russian army while in prison. His relatives told OC Media that he had travelled to Russia one year ago.
Aytan Farhadova
