Talysh activist reportedly detained in Turkey and taken to Azerbaijan by State Security Service
Talysh social activist Kamal Isayev was reportedly detained in Istanbul and taken to Azerbaijan by the State Security Service, his wife Aida Isayeva has told OC Media. The couple are Russian citizens, and have been residing in Moscow since before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
She stated that her husband had not been reachable since 7 November, but that she only learned of his alleged detention on Wednesday from his relatives who live in Baku.
Isayev, who normally lives in Moscow, travelled to Turkey to receive medical treatment on 2 November. He has chronic peptic ulcer disease.
‘He reached Turkey on 4–5 November and on 7 November, at night, sent me a message through Whatsapp that he would return home on 8 November on the night plane’, Isayeva said.
Isayeva responded to her husband the next morning, but he was then uncontactable.
Over the course of several days, Isayeva communicated with lawyers in Turkey, and was asked to provide a power of attorney.
‘On 12 November, I planned to go to the Turkish consulate in Russia, but on the road, my sister-in-law texted me that [Isayev] had been detained and taken to Azerbaijan. The lawyer who was appointed by the government told her that he was in the detention centre’.
Isayeva stressed that Isayev had focused his work on defending Talysh rights and the Talysh language. He also defended people detained in Azerbaijan for politically motivated reasons.
Talysh people are Azerbaijan’s largest minority, estimated to be at least 500,000 and up to one million, but have long struggled to secure their own ethnic autonomy and civil rights, including the ability to access education in the Talysh language.
Since Azerbaijan’s independence, there have been various short-lived Talysh separatist movements, such as the self-proclaimed Talysh Mugan Republic, which Isayev said he was a member of on social media.
‘He has a YouTube channel and criticised the Azerbaijan government too’, said Isayev’s wife.
She noted that her sister-in-law also told her that the lawyer said no one should talk about the detention, but that she did not agree with this advice.
Lawyer Jahangir Javadov told OC Media that he could provide any information regarding Isayev’s alleged charges.
‘Because Isayev categorically prohibited me, I do not want to disseminate information about his charges’.
Javadov added, however, that Isayev had dual citizenship and was registered in Azerbaijan, making any deportation, as long as done via Turkish and international law, legal.
However, Isayeva told OC Media that her husband had never received an Azerbaijan passport after the Soviet Union collapsed; he only had a Russian passport. It is unclear if Isayev has Azerbaijani citizenship. However, his name cannot be found on Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission’s website, which provides open access to registered voters in the country.
In March, Talysh historian Zahiraddin Ibrahimov reportedly disappeared in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Shortly afterwards, his relatives in the Lankaran district in southern Azerbaijan received a letter from Azerbaijan’s DTX, which listed several charges against Ibrahimov, including treason.
Ibrahimov has lived in Russia for more than 20 years, and he received citizenship in 2002.
Aytan Farhadova
