Azerbaijan has issued arrest warrants for seven Turkish nationals it accuses of calling for the violent overthrow of its government and inciting religious hatred.
The case comes as Baku and Ankara tensions continue amid a public dispute over hijab restrictions in Azerbaijani schools and some Turkish politicians’ criticism of Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel.
The announcement coincided with a post by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on X, in which he warned against attempts to sow division among Muslims. Erdoğan did not explicitly refer to Azerbaijan’s anti-hijab policies in his post.
The arrest warrants did not specifically mention opposition to Azerbaijan’s new hijab restrictions in schools, but the statement said that one of the suspects, Rıdvan Kaya, spoke at a protest outside Azerbaijan’s Consulate General in Istanbul on 3 October. Kaya and Zekeriya Ceran also addressed a rally outside Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Ankara on 13 October. Both of these rallies were organised in protest of Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban.
Investigators alleged that their speeches included calls for the forcible seizure of power. OC Media could not view full versions of the speech, so could not verify.
The criminal case was opened on 16 October under several articles of Azerbaijan’s criminal code concerning public calls against the state, incitement to national, racial, social, or religious hatred and hostility, and the preparation, possession, or distribution of religious extremist materials. The Prosecutor’s Office cited unspecified statements and materials apparently published by the Turkish nationals on various social media platforms and online outlets between 25 September and 18 October.
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The suspects include Rıdvan Kaya, a contributor to Haksöz magazine and the Haksöz Haber website; Zekeriya Ceran, a writer for Köklü Değişim and presenter on Değişim TV, who is also known as Abdullah İmamoğlu, according to the prosecutor’s office; Fatih Tezcan, founder of the Analiz Merkezi website; lawyer Ahmet Şanlı; researcher Fahrettin Taşkaya Saral; Abdurrahman Tumer, who uses a Facebook profile under that name; and Alparslan Tanrıkulu, a moderator and athlete.
On social media, Shanli had previously said that the legitimacy of the Azerbaijani government is open to debate and had hinted that Aliyev could eventually face the same fate as former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad: who was overthrown in 2024. Tezcan has claimed that there was a possibility that Turkish leader Erdoğan could overthrow Aliyev.
OC Media couldn’t verify that the other five had made any comments that could be linked to overthrowing Azerbaijan’s government.
On 19 October, Baku’s Binagadi District Court ordered the pre-trial detention in absentia of all seven suspects. They were subsequently placed on an international wanted list, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Baku says it is collecting digital evidence, seeking to establish the authorship of the materials, and pursuing international legal assistance.
Neither Turkey nor the suspects have commented on the arrest warrants.
OC MediaRafig Shahbazov
The case comes as tensions between Azerbaijan and Turkey continue to grow over religious and political issues. Throughout October, school dress-code rules related to the hijab and Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel have sparked debate in Turkey.
After several politicians from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) criticised Azerbaijan’s school uniform regulations. Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) described the remarks as interference in the country’s internal affairs.
Despite the tension, official contacts between the two countries have continued. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 15 October.
The developments coincided with a post by Erdoğan on X on Monday, in which he warned against attempts to sow division among Muslims.
‘We will be very, very careful against dark and dirty games. We will remain alert to those trying to turn Muslims against one another’, Erdoğan wrote. He also said that they would remain vigilant against attempts to undermine public hope and morale and to drive a wedge between people.
OC MediaAytan Farhadova
The timing of the post, which came as Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced criminal proceedings against the seven Turkish citizens, has drawn attention amid the recent tensions between the two countries. However, Erdoğan did not explicitly refer to Azerbaijan or the case in his post.
The case follows a similar move by Azerbaijani authorities in August, when they issued arrest warrants in absentia for three Russian media figures — journalist Ivan Knyazev, political commentator Semyon Uralov, and journalist and Russian Transport Ministry adviser Aleksei Chadayev. They were accused of making calls for the violent overthrow of the Azerbaijani government, inciting national hatred, and publicly calling for terrorism.
The warrants came amid an unprecedented diplomatic dispute between Baku and Moscow connected to the accidental downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet in 2024 after it was mistakenly struck by Russian anti-air missiles.