Azernews.Az

The trial over Azerbaijani poets Farid Huseyn and Shahriyar Hajizade, detained in Iran over three months ago will complete within 15-20 days, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said Thursday.

The information about the judgement will be disseminated, Abdullayev added.

Huseyn and Hajizade, who headed to Iran in late April to participate at a poetry festival, were arrested on May 2. The Iranian Foreign Ministry said they were accused of ``attempting to commit a crime``, without elaborating.

Afterwards, an Iranian state TV channel reported that officials had interrogated the two Azerbaijani nationals on espionage charges, claiming that the detained poets were on a mission to recruit dissidents in Iran to promote separatism.

Iranian news websites claimed that the Azerbaijani poets were accused of drug trafficking and spying for Israel.

Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry dismissed the spying charges as unfounded.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in July called on citizens to be cautious while traveling to Iran. Elman Abdullayev said the ministry was compelled to advise Azerbaijani citizens not to travel to Iran where they may face similar instances. He said ``nobody can be immune`` from being detained in Iran and facing absurd accusations, and regarded this attitude of the neighboring country as ``unclear and unacceptable``.

The Azerbaijani poets` arrests came amid tensions between the two nations over a number of issues, including Azerbaijan`s accusations that Iran plotted terrorist attacks in the capital Baku. Earlier this year, Azerbaijan arrested 22 people and accused them of spying for Iran. Ties have also been strained recently over reported closer ties between Azerbaijan and Iranian rival Israel.