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Dozens of activists arrested in Azerbaijan's capital ahead of mass rally

Yesterday (26 April) police in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku detained dozens of opposition activists on their way to a rally outside the mayor's office. The rally was organised by the opposition Azadliq (Liberty) political grouping, which includes the Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, the Liberal Party, and the Citizens and Development Party. "We failed to hold rally in front of the Baku Mayor’s Office as some protestors were detained," Citizens and Development Party chairman Ali Aliyev stated. Aliyev said the rally was aimed to protest problems in the sphere of freedom of assembly and nomination of requirements associated with additions and changes to the Electoral Code.

Dozens detained
Police did not allow the activists to gather at Baku’s City Hall, and detained the protesters in small groups. Security forces stated that the demonstrators were arrested because the gathering was not sanctioned by city authorities.

Azadliq representatives said about 80 party members were detained. Reportedly, about 33 of them were taken to the police department and the rest driven to various parts of the city. 10 out of 33 were selected and brought to Court. Razi Nurullayev, Deputy Chairman of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan on external affairs, was also among the detainees and brought to Court. He was arrested while giving an interview to journalists about the action. The protesters brought to Court were fined 25 USD.

The Azadliq bloc had asked authorities to sanction a protest on 25 April in front of the Baku City Hall, but it did not received an answer. The bloc, however, decided to hold an unsanctioned picket on 26 April demanding official observance of the right to free assembly.

Earlier, the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan decided to hold mass rallies. The other parties represented in the Azadliq bloc expressed their intention to support the action. Police also broke up a similar protest two weeks ago at the same location organised by the opposition Musavat party.

The Azerbaijani Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, but the capital’s authorities have refused to allow public protests in the city center for three years, only permitting demonstrations on the outskirts.

Parliamentary elections will take place in the fall. The main opposition parties, including Musavat and the Popular Front Party, said to take part in the elections and to challenge the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party.


Sources: Trend Az; RFE/RL