Embassy: Baku’s Spying Charges against Iranian Citizen “Baseless”

Iran’s Embassy in Azerbaijan dismissed the espionage charges pressed against an Iranian national by a Baku court as merely “groundless”.
The Baku Court on Grave Crimes has recently sentenced Iranian citizen Bahram Fayyazi to 15 years in jail on spying charges.

“The Baku Court on Grave Crimes should hear such cases in the presence of an authorized lawyer and the Iranian Embassy’s representative and naturally the Islamic Republic of Iran considers defending the Iranian national as its duty and it will seriously pursue this matter,” Head of the Iranian Embassy’s Media Office Seyed Mohammad Ayatollahi said on Saturday.

In recent years, Baku has increasingly embarked on arresting Iranian and Azeri nationals on charges of spying for Iran without providing any corroborative evidence. Almost in all cases, the court hearings are held in behind-the-closed-doors sessions.

Last month, Azerbaijan’s National Security Ministry arrested the Azeri journalist Parviz Hashemli on charges of being linked to Iran and arms smuggling, but Azeri and international circles attributed his arrest to his journalistic activities.

Last year, 22 Azeri national were tried in an Azeri court on charges of plotting terrorist attacks and cooperation with Iran, but none of them admitted to the charges.