Iqbal Abilov is an independent researcher of Talysh origin and a human rights defender. From his early childhood, he lived in Belarus but kept contact with his relatives in Azerbaijan. As a scholar, he researched Talysh culture.

On June 14, 2024, Abilov arrived in Azerbaijan to attend his cousin's wedding in Masally, a small city in the southeastern part of the country. On June 22, the Special Security Services summoned him to their regional office. After six hours, he was released without any further explanation. On June 27, at the Baku airport, when traveling back to Minsk, his passport and phone were confiscated and he was not allowed to board the plane.

On July 22, 2024, Abilov visited the Masally Regional Office of Special Security Services to retrieve his passport and phone. However, without informing his family, Abilov was brought to Baku on charges of high treason, making public calls for violence against the state, and inciting national, racial, social, or religious hatred and hostility. Authorities claim he had connections with Armenian scholars and worked with the Armenian security services. As Abilov is a researcher with relationships with academic representatives all over the world, he denied the charges.

On July 24, 2024, the Sabail District Court placed Abilov under pre-trial detention for four months. He is kept in solitary confinement at the State Security Services office in Baku where he is not allowed to make phone calls or meet with his family.