Azerbaijani national sentenced to 8.5 years for fighting with ISIS

Azerbaijan has sentenced Nijat Azizov, who was accused of participating in fighting in Syria as a member of the terrorist organisation ISIS, to eight years and six months in prison.

The verdict was handed down by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

Under the court’s ruling, Azizov will serve his sentence at a medium-security correctional facility.

Azizov was detained by the State Security Service in December 2025.

According to the investigation, he travelled from Baku to Istanbul and then illegally entered Syria through Hatay to take part in armed conflicts motivated by religious hostility.

He subsequently participated in fighting in the Syrian cities of Aleppo, Azaz and Al-Bab as a member of an armed group called “Xalidin Camaatı”, which was affiliated with ISIS and led by another Azerbaijani national.

Azizov was charged under Articles 12.1, 218.2 (participation in a criminal organisation) and 283-1.3 (participation in armed conflicts outside the country) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov