It is reported that individuals who attempted to hold a march in Baku while raising the flag of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the Azerbaijan SSR have been detained by the police.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during operations carried out by police officers, Abdulla Ibrahimli, Ibrahim Asadli, and other individuals whose names were not disclosed were identified and detained, and criminal cases were opened against them.
They were charged under Article 233 of the Criminal Code (organizing actions that lead to a disturbance of public order or actively participating in such actions).
The incident came to public attention after footage of people holding USSR flags spread on social media.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs states that the initial investigation determined that these individuals “rented an office with the financial support of another state, operated as a group, and held regular meetings.”
“During searches of the detainees’ offices and residences, numerous materials, flags promoting communist ideology, books encouraging radicalism, CD-disks, and various electronic devices were seized. The investigation is ongoing,” the Ministry’s statement says.
One of the detainees, Ibrahim Asadli, is a doctor by profession and is known as the head of the Valeology and Integrative Botany Center.
The reaction of the detainees’ family members is unknown.
In some countries, communist ideology, communist parties, and the use of communist symbols are either completely banned or heavily restricted. For example, Ukraine banned the activities of communist parties in 2015. In the Baltic states—Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia—the use of communist and Soviet symbols is restricted under decommunization laws. Hungary has banned communist symbols in public use since 2013. In the Czech Republic, public propaganda of communist ideology is considered a crime. Countries such as Slovakia and Moldova also impose various restrictions on communist parties and symbols. The main reason for such bans is cited as these countries’ past experiences with repressive measures under communist regimes and the desire to prevent a recurrence of such practices.
In Azerbaijan, the promotion of communism and Soviet symbols is not prohibited by law. Nevertheless, these topics periodically spark public debate.
Lawyer Ruslan Aliyev told Meydan TV that under Azerbaijani legislation, the promotion of communism and Soviet symbols is not banned.
“The statement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs makes it seem as though the detained individuals are members of a terrorist or radical extremist organization. However, this is not supported from a legal perspective. In Azerbaijan, communist ideology, the Communist Party, and the use of Soviet attributes—including the raising of USSR and Azerbaijan SSR flags—are not prohibited by law. Article 47 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of thought, and Article 49 ensures freedom of assembly. Within the framework of these articles, expressing political views and organizing peaceful marches are legally protected. Therefore, police intervention and the opening of a criminal case against these individuals contradict the law and the Constitution and may be considered measures without legal basis.”
The lawyer notes that the arrests are unlawful:
“The detainees did not form a political party or a radical group, nor did they engage with banned literature. Presenting them in this manner and exposing private details of their lives is unlawful and represents factual political intolerance and a defamatory campaign. These methods are also used against political parties opposed to the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) and are examples of political discrimination and intolerance.”
This is not the first time that discussions have arisen in Azerbaijan regarding the USSR flag. This summer, Saleh Samedov, the chairman of the Council of Elders of Imishli district, was dismissed from his post after participating in an event with the “George ribbon” and the USSR flag. He was later arrested on embezzlement charges. Samedov denied the accusations, saying that other flags were also present at the event:
“The Azerbaijani flag is always above our heads,” he emphasized in an interview with local media before his arrest.
