In Azerbaijan, advocates of arrested Bakhtiyar Gadjiev report law violations in relation to their client

On March 5, Alaif Gasanov and Elchin Namazov, advocates of Bakhtiyar Gadjiev, 28, who was arrested on Friday, March 4, could meet their client in SIZO (pre-trial prison) No. 2 of the city of Gyandzha. They believe the arrest of Gadjiev, who is under threat of up to two years in prison, to be a political order.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Nizami District Court of Gyandzha ruled to arrest Bakhtiyar Gadjiev, an active Facebook user, for one month. Gadjiev is accused of evading military service, but he rejects this charge and asserts that he is persecuted because of his active civil position and activities on the Internet.

Lawyer Gasanov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that "Bakhtiyar had signs of violence under his eyes; and the defence wants to request appointment of forensic medical examination.

Lawyer Namazov has noted that Gadjiev, who was detained at about 3:00 p.m. on Friday, was not immediately provided with legal defence. At the trial, when the measure of his freedom restraint was decided - a one-month-long arrest, - his rights were defended by an advocate, appointed by the state. "Moreover, at his detention Gadjiev's family members were not informed, which is a flagrant violation of the law," said Namazov.

The advocates are sure that Gadjiev was arrested for political reasons, for his active civil position and his statements on the Facebook.

On March 5, Gadjiev's advocates met Adil Veliev, City Prosecutor of Gyandzha, and the investigator in charge of the case. The Prosecutor said that Gadjiev's arrest stemmed from the fact that he broke his subscription to remain under police control and not to leave Gyandzha.

In case Gadjiev's guilt is proved, he is under threat of up to 2 years of imprisonment.

Gadjiev's arrest has caused increased attention of independent lawyers of Azerbaijan. His legal defence is coordinated by Intigam Aliev, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist, head of the Society of Legal Education. "Bakhtiyar Gadjiev's criminal prosecution and arrest are run under political order," Mr Aliev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Lawyer Aliev believes the prosecution to be "absolutely illegal." According to his version, in 2006-2009 the Nizami District Military Commissariat of Gyandzha received all the documents about Gadjiev's higher education; and during that period he was provided with a reprieve from the draft. In 2010, Gadjiev, although passed the military medical commission, was not recruited.

Gadjiev's arrest also caused protests of youth organizations of Azerbaijan. On March 5, Baku hosted - at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Azerbaijan (DPA) - a meeting of activists of youth branches of political parties of the Popular Front, "Musavat" and DPA, and a number of independent youth organizations.

Earlier, its was planned to dedicate the meeting to the fate of Dzhabbar Savalan, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), who was arrested a month ago on charges of drug possession. However, because of Bakhtiyar Gadjiev's arrest, these two topics were discussed at the meeting. The audience treated the arrests of dissidents as political orders of the authorities with the aim to intimidate the independent-minded young people. They demanded the release Savalan and Gadjiev.

On the outcomes of debates, they passed appeals to international organizations and the public of the country to raise their voices in protest against persecutions in Azerbaijan of political opponents of the regime and demand that the government of the country to release the detainees, said Abulfaz Gurbanly, head of the Youth Committee of the PFPA.

Etimad Budagov, representative of the Institute for Reporter's Freedom and Safety (IRFS), also condemned Gadjiev's arrest. In his view, the arrest was politically motivated. "Many students have postponements from military service because of their education. There are grounds to believe that Gadjiev is persecuted just for his active civil stand. Our institute will closely monitor the course of the investigation and inform international human rights agencies," said Budagov.

According to Bakhtiyar Gadjiev's comrades, he had supported a group formed in the Facebook, which had announced March 11 in Azerbaijan to be "the Great People's Day" and called youngsters to march along the streets of Baku. However, Gadjiev said that he was not a member of this group. On March 4, in his status on the Facebook he called the police "to make the right choice."

At the parliamentary elections on November 7, 2010, Gadjiev ran for an MP position at one of the election constituencies of Baku. After the elections, he presented video materials to the press about violations of the law in the course of voting and during the vote count. After that, in the second half of November 2010, the authorities, as he said, prevented his departure at the border to Georgia to study at the doctorate of the Tbilisi University. It was also motivated by the need for him to take his military service.

Bakhtiyar Gadjiev had been detained and arrested earlier. Thus, on January 10, 2007, after a sharp rise in energy prices in Azerbaijan, he launched a website www.susmayaq.biz (Let's not keep silent!), where he called readers to actively protest against government's policies. Three days later he was detained in an Internet club and sentenced to 10 days of administrative arrest. However, because of broad protests of local and international public, the Court of Appeal of Azerbaijan released him after 2 days in custody.

In 2008, Gadjiev was briefly detained because of initiating, as he explained, a protest against "the rigged presidential election"; he disseminated an appeal through the Internet to all the drivers to honk when passing by the presidential palace.