04 January 2019, 11:52
Five persons left in custody after a rally in defence of Mekhman Guseinov
Three journalists and two activists of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), detained at a rally in defence of the blogger Mekhman Guseinov in Baku on January 3, are in custody pending trial. The other ten detainees were released.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 3, in Baku, law enforcers detained journalists and activists at the actions in support of the blogger Mekhman Guseinov.
On December 26, the blogger Mekhman Guseinov announced a dry hunger strike in an Azerbaijani colony after he was made a figurant of a new criminal case initiated against him two months before the end of his prison term. On December 30, Guseinov, after being transferred to the SIZO (pre-trial prison), began drinking water.
In total, they detained 15 persons, including journalists and PFPA activists; all of them were taken to the Nizami District Police Department and questioned, Zafar Akhmedov, the spokesman for the Centre for Defence of Political Prisoners, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
According to Mr Akhmedov, seven detained women were released from the police around 10:00 p.m. Other detainees were taken to the Nizami District Court.
Three women were released from the court around 11:30 p.m. after receiving a warning; and five others were left in custody until the trial, which will be held on January 4, Zafar Akhmedov has added.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 4, 2019 at 03:17 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent