A criminal case has been initiated regarding the facts of violent seizure of power, violent change of the constitutional order, and incitement of religious hatred and enmity in the Republic of Azerbaijan
The press service of the Prosecutor General's Office informed Modern.az about this.
It was stated that investigations were carried out based on information received by the Prosecutor General's Office regarding the sharing of materials by various individuals on social networks, including Celal Çiftçi, born in 1975, a columnist for the newspaper “Şanlıurfa Olay”, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, aimed at the violent seizure of power, and the incitement of religious hatred and enmity through violence in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
During the investigation, it was determined that after the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated September 21, 2026, No. 309, materials with religious radicalism content, including those prepared through artificial intelligence, were repeatedly disseminated, as well as repeated calls were made under various headings with radical content, aimed at a coup and violent seizure of power, violent change of the constitutional order, and incitement and promotion of religious hatred and enmity through violence in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Based on the collected materials, on October 16, 2026, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case under Articles 281.2 (public calls aimed at the violent seizure of power, violent change of the constitutional order in the Republic of Azerbaijan, committed repeatedly), 283.2.1 (incitement of religious hatred and enmity through violence on the grounds of religious enmity, religious radicalism and religious fanaticism) and 167-3.1 (preparation, storage and dissemination of materials calling for, justifying and condoning religious extremist activities) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the preliminary investigation was entrusted to the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Celal Çiftçi was involved as an accused person in the criminal case and an international search was declared for him. Currently, requests for international legal assistance are being sent to the competent authorities of the Republic of Turkey for the purpose of carrying out relevant investigative actions against him and other persons, as well as other necessary measures are being implemented within the framework of international cooperation mechanisms.
Within the framework of the preliminary investigation, necessary investigative actions are continuing in the direction of objectively, fully and comprehensively investigating the content of the mentioned information, as well as other materials of this nature, the circumstances of their preparation and dissemination, as well as other circumstances significant for the case, giving a legal assessment to the actions and making a decision in accordance with the requirements of the legislation.
The Prosecutor General's Office calls on everyone to refrain from disseminating content that promotes hatred and enmity on religious grounds, to use social networks responsibly, and to comply with the requirements of the legislation for the sake of protecting religious tolerance, mutual respect, and public solidarity.
