22:50, 20 January 2012

Participants of taxi drivers' protest in Baku sentenced to administrative arrest

In Baku, the Yasamal Court has sentenced two detainees in the course of the protest of taxi drivers on January 19 to five days of administrative arrest.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 19 in Baku the police stopped an unsanctioned action of taxi drivers. About 200 of them tried to hold a rally in front of the Ministry of Transport; however, the police squeezed the protesters out of the area and detained about 20 people.

As reported on January 20 by the "Contact Online News", Gurban Mamedov, a member of the Committee for Defence of Youth's Rights, and Ilham Amiraslanov, a taxi driver, were sentenced to five days of administrative arrest each.

More than 15 other detainees were released after a warning made to them by the court and the police, the APA reports.

Let us remind you that taxi drivers are protesting against the recent Ministry's regulations, which toughen licensing of taxi operations. From now on, licenses will be issued only to new cars.