Azerbaijan sentences man to 13 years for planned synagogue attack in Baku

A court in Azerbaijan has sentenced Abdullah Aliyev, 18, to 13 years in prison for attempting to carry out a terrorist attack on a synagogue in Baku.

The Baku Court for Serious Crimes found Aliyev guilty, rejecting his lawyer’s request for acquittal. According to the verdict, he will serve his sentence in a maximum-security prison. In his final statement, Aliyev expressed repentance for his actions, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Authorities said Aliyev, a resident of Sumgait, was detained during a special operation conducted by the Azerbaijani State Security Service (SSS). Court documents link him to the terrorist group ISIS-Khorasan. After pledging allegiance to the group’s leader, known by the nickname Abu Radd, Aliyev began preparing an attack.

On December 28, 2024, he drove a KIA car to the Mountain Jews’ synagogue on Alimardan bay Topchubashov Street in Baku, planning to throw Molotov cocktails at the building and enter with knives and an axe. SSS officers intercepted him before the attack could be carried out. During the arrest, authorities confiscated three bottles of incendiary mixture, an axe, two knives, and other weapons.

Aliyev was charged under multiple provisions of Azerbaijan’s Criminal Code, including those related to preparation and attempt of terrorist acts.

By Sabina Mammadli