Religion

Religion

Akhund of Imam Khomeini mosque in Azerbaijan arrested

28 November 2011 12:09 (UTC +04:00)

APA reports that he was detained on charges of tax evasion. Haji Masim Novruzov is at the same time akhund of Imam Khomeini mosque.

Surakhany district court sentenced Novruzov to 2 years in jail. Judge Hasan Ahmadov will consider the appeal filed against the court decision.

According to the indictment, Masim Damir Novruzov faced charges under articles 213.1 (tax evasion) and 310 (pretending to be an official, committing acts causing the violation of the rights and legal interests of individuals and legal entities) of the Criminal Code.

Novruzov is the father-in-law of Jafari community Haji Abgul Suleymanov and editor-in-chief of islam-azeri.az website Ramin Bayramov. Suleymanov and Bayramov were detained as a result of the operations carried out by the National Security Ministry and Prosecutor Generalâ€™s Office. They are accused of stirring up enmity against Azerbaijan, assisting a foreign state and its representatives, causing unrest, violating public safety. Drugs were seized from both of them.