Political scientist and OC Media contributor Bahruz Samadov, who is serving a sentence of 15 years in prison on charges of treason at the Umbaki facility in the suburbs of Azerbaijani capital Baku, reminds of Stefan Zweig’s main character, Jacob Mendel, from his short story Buchmendel, OC Media writes.

Mendel, who during World War I was repressed for alleged collaboration with the enemy because he lived in the world of books and did not understand political realities.

Like Mendel, Samadov openly expressed his opinions, interacted with Armenian journalists, and wrote about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, not taking into account that his activities were under the surveillance of Azerbaijani security services.

Despite Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev’s statements about willingness for peace, nothing has changed inside the country after the war: critics of the authorities continue to be arrested, and the media are used to shape public opinion as needed.

An example of this policy is the case of Azerbaijani singer Samira Efendi, who publicly supported peace and gave 12 points to an Armenian singer. Despite Azerbaijani official rhetoric about peace, she faced persecution in pro-government media, which exploited the emotions of families of Azerbaijani soldiers who have died.

However, despite Aliyev’s public statements on peace and friendly relations between Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, Efendi’s aforesaid act became a new tool for pro-government Azerbaijani media to stir criticism. Killed Azerbaijani soldiers’ mothers and wives—families almost entirely forgotten in Azerbaijan until the next anniversary of the conflict—also participated in this manipulative narrative.

Even in prison, Bahruz Samadov is considered dangerous. He is transferred to stricter conditions, with restrictions on access to books and contact with relatives. He has attempted suicide twice. And like Jacob Mendel, he cannot exist without books, which have been his only connection to the outside world.