Two Azerbaijani oppositionists arrested for 20 days

A court in Baku has imposed administrative penalties on five members of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) – on December 16, two activists were sentenced to 20 days' arrest and three others were fined.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that these oppositionists were among more than a hundred people, who came on January 15 to the courthouse of grave crimes to support their party colleagues accused of money laundering. The courtroom with 30 seats could house only the defendants' relatives and a few PFPA leaders. The police began dispersing the supporters, who stayed outside and detained 13 of them.

Late in the evening on January 15, several activists were released from the police station, Tezekhan Miralamli, an employee of the PFPA's press service, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Five activists were accused of disobeying the police.

On January 16, the court sentenced Nidjat Abdullazade and Emil Salimov to 20 days of administrative arrest; while Nidjat Nizamov, Shamistan Khaziev and Emin Maniev were fined by 200 manats (about 120 US dollars) each.

"(Oppositionists) came to support their colleagues; they stood silently. (The police detained) them in the mini-park opposite the courthouse. Earlier, there were also (similar) detentions of our activists. Apparently, this is done so that people don't gather near courthouses," said Miralamli.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 17, 2019 at 11:17 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.