Baku: A preparatory court hearing has been held in the criminal case initiated by the State Security Service (SSS) against Vugar Najafli, Jamal Gozalov, Tofiq Yusifli, Dadash Hashimov, Mahammad Huseynli, Mushfig Hashimov, Mir Javad Huseynli, and Tural Agayev, who are accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist group. During the hearing, chaired by Judge Namig Karimov at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes, the personal details of the accused were clarified. According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the defense lawyers filed motions requesting that the pre-trial detention measure imposed on their clients be replaced with house arrest. After deliberation, the panel of judges rejected the defense's motion and upheld the previously selected pre-trial detention measure without changes. Subsequently, it was decided to refer the criminal case for trial, and the hearing was scheduled for March 11. Complex operational-investigative measures were conducted on criminal cases initiated by the SSS regarding the fo rmation of criminal gangs composed of Azerbaijani citizens with connections to international terrorist organizations. These activities involved the preparation of terrorist acts, including the creation of underground shelters in the northern region's forested areas and the provision of weapons, ammunition, explosives, technical devices, and other necessary equipment. Investigations established that Vugar Najafli, Jamal Gozalov, Tofiq Yusifli, and Dadash Hashimov, who were members of a gang created for terrorist crimes, left Azerbaijan in 2024 and hid in the mountainous areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. It was determined they participated in combat exercises and armed conflicts, undergoing armed training for criminal purposes outside Azerbaijan as part of an international terrorist organization. SSS, in cooperation with partner foreign special service and law enforcement agencies, captured the individuals under investigation in foreign countries and brought them back to Azerbaijan. Measures taken also revealed that Tofig Yusifli and Dadash Hashimov's terrorist activities were financed by Azerbaijani citizens Mir Javad Huseynli and Tural Agayev, leading to the establishment of other criminal acts by the latter individuals. Members of the criminal group, including Vugar Najafli, Jamal Gozalov, Tofiq Yusifli, Dadash Hashimov, Mir Javad Huseynli, and Tural Aghayev, were charged under Articles 214-1 (financing terrorism), 283-1.3 (propagating religious sects and participating in trainings and armed conflicts outside Azerbaijan under the guise of performing religious rites on the basis of religious hostility), and other articles of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code. A preventive measure of arrest was chosen for them by the court's decision.