Azerbaijani oppositionists doubt terror act version at the rally

The report of special services that the liquidated militants had been plotting a terror act at an opposition rally in Baku is able of intimidating the protesters and thereby affecting the number of them, the politicians and experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 25 in Baku power agents shot dead three Azerbaijani citizens suspected of preparing to commit a terror act at an opposition rally.

Nureddin Mamedli, the head of the Supreme Mejlis of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) and a member of the coordination centre of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), has questioned the plausibility of the terror act version.

"If the employees of the National Security Service (NSS) have really prevented a terror act, the militants had plotted to be committed at the rally, it's laudable; however, opinions appeared in social networks that the special operation against religious radicals and the information about their plotting a terror act at an oppositional rally could have aimed at intimidating people so that protest actions don't grow massive," Mr Mamedli told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, adding that the version of plotting terror acts at protest rallies may be used by the authorities to justify the bans thereof.

Tofig Tyurkel, an observer at the "Turan" Information Agency, has pointed out that the power agents' version had failed to explain the alleged militants' motives for plotting a terror act at the rally.

"They should provide the public with some convincing evidence in support of this version; otherwise there will always be a room for doubts," Mr Tyurkel told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He has also supported the version that power agents could have spread this information with the aim to reduce the number of participants of protest actions.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.