RESONANT MURDER

In 1913, a series of trials that attracted public attention were held in Baku. One of them was the trial on the murder of the akhund of Haci Imamaali Mosque, Mullah Ruhulla Axundov. The mosque was located at the intersection of Mariinskaya and Karantinnaya Streets (now Rasul Rza and Hazi Aslanov Streets - editor). The akhund was killed on 16 January 1912 in his apartment at the time of prayer. At the time of the assassination, only his 14-year-old daughter Safura was in the house. During the preliminary investigation, she testified that half an hour before the murder, she saw two men enter the house. They were talking with the akhund. On hearing a gunshot, Safura ran into her father's room, where she found him on his knees. "May God punish you," these were the last words of Mullah Ruhulla Axundov.

Highly educated mulla 

Mullah Ruhulla Axundov was a highly educated religious figure. He studied in various religious educational centres in Iran for nearly 20 years. He was against religious fanaticism and campaigned for enlightenment. In society, he gained fame as one of the most progressive members of the Muslim clergy. Always - whether in a mosque or at a meeting - he made speeches full of deep condemnation of fanatics, refuting the false interpretation of Islam spread by ignorant mullahs, and openly castigated religious prejudices and the dark side of Muslim life. Being a mullah, Ruhulla Axundov taught at Russian-Tatar schools in Baku. He campaigned for public education and emancipation of women.

Mullah Ruhulla Axundov frequently appeared on the pages of the Azerbaijani press, which was rare for the religious figures of that time. He translated Persian and Arabic books into Azerbaijani, published them with his little money and distributed them among the population. The akhund was known as an author and wrote the biography of Haci Zeynalabdin Tagiyev. This book was published in Baku in 1903.

His murder shocked everyone in Baku society, not just Muslims. The akhund's funeral was attended by more than 10,000 people. The coffin was followed by the mayor Martynov, police chief Nazanskiy, municipality head Rayevskiy, the Persian consul, teachers, intellectuals and members of charities headed by Tagiyev. The funeral procession stopped in front of the City Council (now Baku City Executive Authorities - editor). Here Baku provincial qadi Mirmammad Karim Mircafarzada performed a prayer and after that, a memorial service was held.  Ali Mardan bay Topcubasov spoke on behalf of the intelligentsia.

The case on the murder of Mullah Ruhulla Axundov was considered by the Military District Court which included judges from Tbilisi. The trial was held in Icarisahar. The newspapers wrote that the former Duma area (now Youth Square - editor) was full of people, and the gates were guarded by a reinforced mounted police unit.

The convoy that brought the accused to the courthouse and guarded them during the trial was reinforced too.

The precautions were understandable - the man in the dock was the well-known qocu and resident of Novxani, Haci Mashadi Haci oglu, with his henchmen. People who testified at the preliminary investigation and then acted as witnesses at the trial said that he hated the religious figure. The famous Muslim public figure and barrister (lawyer - editor), Mustafa bay Alibayov, told the court about the reasons for this hatred in detail. 

The complaint, which became fatal 

According to him, in 1906, a number of prominent Muslims established in Baku the Hidayat society, which aimed to pursue criminals who committed murders, kidnappings for ransom, etc. The board of the society included both civilians and religious leaders, including Mullah Ruhulla Axundov. The chairman of the society was the Baku provincial qadi Mirmammad Karim Mircafarzada. Hidayat's authority is demonstrated by the fact that its board included Haci Zeynalabdin Tagiyev, while Isa bay Mustafa bay Alibayov, who was secretary, became an attorney for the society. Mustafa bay Alibayov told the court that the establishment of the Hidayat society was welcomed by official circles: "In 1903-1905, murders, robberies and vendetta took on such alarming proportions that the Muslim community had quite a natural idea to take part in the fight against this evil along with the police. The Muslim community knew all the thugs, but no one dared to deal with them. This state of affairs led to the complete moral and economic disorientation of the population. We gathered in the mosque to discuss the situation.  Our patience was exhausted. It was decided to create a society to deal with the harmful elements of the Muslim population. We decided to name the new society Hidayat, which means "salvation" in Arabic. When the society started to operate, its board began to receive numerous complaints about qocus (gochu - editor). The administration represented by the governor general Faddeyev reacted positively to the objectives of the society. All complaints about the crimes of Muslims were sent to the society for conclusions. Faddeyev took our conclusions into account."

Addressing the court, Alibayov also said that in early November 1906, the board of the Hidayat society received a complaint from a group of Novxani villagers. They asked for protection "from the yoke of Haci Mashadi Haci oglu" who terrorized the local population. The statement said that he is the leader of a gang that has many murders on its conscience. It was noted that he was patronized by the district police officer and rural elder. Novxani residents had also sent similar complaints to government agencies, in particular the Baku governor-general.

The board of the society entrusted the investigation to Mullah Ruhulla Axundov, who was closely acquainted with residents of Novxani because he had a cottage there. His investigation confirmed that the villagers' complaint was well-founded. Axundov prepared a detailed report in this regard. After discussing it, the society made a decision to request Haci Mashadi Haci oglu's eviction from the Caucasus. From that moment, Alibayov told the court, the latter hated the religious leader and decided to kill the akhund. According to Alibayov, Axundov was repeatedly visited by unknown people, who said that they had received a proposal from Haci Mashadi Haci oglu to kill him, but turned it down. In particular, a witness named Xudaverdi testified at the trial that the he was promised 300 roubles for the akhund's murder. Another witness was slandered by Haci Mashadi for refusing to kill Axundov, accused of theft of money and put in prison.

The resolution of the Hidayat society was submitted to the authorities, but was not considered. As it became known later in the court, Haci Mashadi Haci oglu enjoyed prestige among officials. The Baku district chief, Lazarev, testified at the trial that he was a police employee and rendered great services to the police. On orders from the administration, he was given a gun. The district police chief saw nothing wrong with him. In particular, Lazarev said, he helped to catch a well-known criminal named Xaliq. "Unfortunately, the robber escaped from the police." Police Lt-Col Poltoratskiy also positively characterized him, calling the bandit "a valuable assistant to the police and detectives".

The situation changed with the appointment of Colonel Martynov as Baku mayor. At the request of the Hidayat society, Haci Mashadi Haci oglu and his brother Ali Baba were arrested and jailed in December 1909. By a decision of 23 January 1911, the brothers were forbidden to stay within the limits of the Baku city government. Therefore, they chose the village of Goymali, which was not part of the city government, as their place of residence.

Among the papers of Mullah Ruhulla Axundov, the investigation found a draft of his appeal to the mayor. It talked about the criminal activities of Haci Mashadi Haci oglu. At the end of the petition, the akhund writes: "Having brought it to your attention, I do not want to bother you about the investigation of these cases because none of the witnesses will tell anything out of fear. I just want to state to you that except for him and his people, I do not have a single enemy, and if I or my children are murdered, please consider only him to be the culprit. I hope you believe me." The original letter was discovered by the investigator in the mayor's office. 

The bandit was defended at the trial by well-known Baku lawyers Prince Baratov, Makalinskiy, Leontovich and Klank. They failed to convince the court of their client's innocence. Haci Mashadi Haci oglu and each of his three accomplices were sentenced to 20 years' penal servitude.