Ten marchers for freedom of political prisoners arrested in Baku

After the attempt to hold an unsanctioned march in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in support of political prisoners, the court decided to arrest ten out of the 15 activists detained by law enforcers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 21, activists of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), demanding to release the country's political prisoners, filed a notification about another rally in support of the blogger Mekhman Guseinov scheduled for January 26. However, on January 24, the Baku Mayoralty banned the rally referring to violations of the public order at the previous rally on January 19. Activists found such arguments to be unjustified.

On January 26, around 3:30 p.m. local time, activists gathered on Mirali Seyidov Street in the Yasamal District. A group of 50-60 people attempted to hold a march, the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" quoted on January 26 the message of the Chief Police Department of the Baku City.

The police detained 15 participants of the intended march; they were taken to the Yasamal District Police Department; 10 detainees were arrested by administrative court decision; and five were warned and released, law enforcers have reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 27, 2019 at 09:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.