Court leaves Azerbaijani activist Ilham Gusein under arrest

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has dismissed the complaint against the administrative arrest of Ilham Gusein, a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Majlis of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). His defence treats the arrest as unjustified.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ilham Gusein was arrested on the eve of the rally in Baku, when law enforcers undertook mass detentions of activists, including the organizers of the rally scheduled for October 19, the oppositionists have informed.

On October 26, about 30 activists came to the BCA to support Gusein. Zibeida Sadygova, an advocate, noted in her speech that her client was detained on October 16 and sentenced to 60 days of arrest on the same day for illegal drug use and disobedience to policeman's lawful demand, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has reported from the BCA.

"In the morning, Ilham Gusein went out to a store for shopping; and on his way back home, he was detained by people in civilian clothes. However, documents indicate his detention in a completely different place," said the advocate.

The defence petitioned to stop the administrative case and issue a private ruling on those who had illegally arrested Gusein.

The arrested person himself also denied the charge. "I'm 36 years old. I don't smoke, and I don't even know the taste of alcohol. But they accuse me of using drugs. They could have invented something more believable. You can't say such shameless lies. The real reason for my arrest was to isolate activists before the October 19 rally, so that to disrupt the action," Ilham Gusein said at the BCA.

However, the judge didn't let him to finish the speech. Having conferred for half a minute on the spot, the judge dismissed the appeal and upheld the ruling of the district court.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 26, 2019 at 11:40 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.