Two officers arrested in Azerbaijan after soldiers' skirmish

In Azerbaijan, in the context of the tragic incident on January 28 in an army unit, deployed in the Dashkesan District in the country's west, two officers are arrested: Major Valad Gurbanov, deputy commander of the battalion, and Senior Lieutenant Rustam Ahmedov, a platoon commander.

As stated today by Zakir Garalov, General Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan, "under the order of President Ilham Aliev, highly skilled experts of the Ministries of Defence and National Security, and of the Republic's Military Prosecutor's Office were sent to Dashkesan with the mission to inquire the reasons of the incident." The text of Mr Garalov's comment on the tragic incident in Dashkesan was disseminated by the State Cable Agency "AzerTAdz", the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The General Public Prosecutor has noted that, "in spite of the primary information on the tragic incident presented to media by the Ministry of Defence and the Military Prosecutor's Office, certain individuals perform in media, following their political aims, with their prejudiced comments, move their versions having nothing to do with the objective reality and proofs; thus, confusing the public opinion."

At the same time, Mr Garalov told that as a result of operative-and-search actions, Major Valad Gurbanov, deputy commander of the battalion, and Senior Lieutenant Rustam Ahmedov, a platoon commander, who "left their soldiers without control during firearm cleaning, without ensuring their guard, and committed other abuses in performing their service duties," were arrested.

In his turn, Emin Guseinov, Director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), has treated the statement of the general Public Prosecutor of Azerbaijan as an attempt to restrict the freedom of speech.