Brothers Royal Karimov and Seymur Mammadov have been released from detention in Azerbaijan. Both brothers had declined military service as conscientious objectors.

As previously reported, an Azerbaijani court denied Seymur’s request to be assigned alternative civilian service. He was convicted and sentenced to nine months in prison on September 22, 2022. The verdict was a direct violation of two rulings of the European Court of Human Rights pertaining to Azerbaijan. Seymur’s lawyers appealed the decision, and on December 12, 2022, the Ganja Court of Appeals ruled to change the punishment from imprisonment to a suspended sentence. Although Seymur is now free, he is appealing to the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan to overturn the unfair verdict and sentence.

Seymur was not allowed to have a Bible or receive letters while in prison, yet Jehovah sustained him. He explains: “The day before my last court hearing, I wrote on a piece of paper the words at Joshua 1:5, 6, which say: ‘Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will neither desert you nor abandon you.’” Those words strengthened Seymur after he was arrested and taken to prison. “These verses became my daily text,” he says.

Authorities summoned Royal to the Gadabay Region State Service for Mobilization and Conscription on May 30, 2022. Royal declined military service as a conscientious objector and asked to be assigned alternative civilian service. His request was denied. On July 25, 2022, military authorities arrested him and he was unlawfully detained at the military unit until November 1, 2022. Royal is requesting that the actions of the Gadabay Region State Service for Mobilization and Conscription be investigated by the proper authorities.

“When I was told that I would not be released from the military unit, I felt terrible,” Royal relates. “But I tried to remember that it was a test of my faith.”

During Royal’s time in detention, his sister was allowed to visit him. She was able to give him a Bible, and Royal explains that this sustained him spiritually. “There were times when I felt discouraged. But in those moments, Jehovah gave me a second wind. Reading the Bible and praying to Jehovah brought me incredible peace.”

We continue to pray that the authorities in Azerbaijan will stop imprisoning our brothers for conscientious objection and instead provide genuine alternative civilian service as it is offered in numerous other lands.—1 Timothy 2:1, 2.