"Nida" activists arrested in Azerbaijan can be exposed to illegal methods of pressure, their leaders are concerned

In Azerbaijan, parents of the arrested activists of the civil movement "Nida" (Shout) Bakhtiyar Guliev, Shakhin Novruzlu and Mamed Aziziov refused from the services of independent lawyers, suggested by the leaders of the movement. The leaders of the movement are concerned about possible pressure on the detainees and believe that the criminal case against them was fabricated.

In the evening on 9 March 9, the Public Television of Azerbaijan and private TV channels presented a footage of interrogations of the arrested activists of the "Nida". They gave confessions, saying that members of the "Nida" were trained to render "violent resistance to the police and commit putsches."

In the same evening, around midnight, all the seven members of the board of the "Nida" held a briefing in the office of the Institute of Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), where the young leaders expressed their commitment to democratic values and use in their work of exclusively peaceful methods of political struggle.

Rashadat Akhundov, one of the founders of the "Nida" treated the footage of the interrogations put on TV as "a farce." "The guys obviously had to give this testimony under pressure," said Akhundov.

Meanwhile, on March 11, it was reported that Rasim Aziziov, the father of one of the arrested members of the "Nida" Mamed Aziziov, refused from the services of independent advocates.

According to U. Mamedli a member of the board of the "Nida", the parents of the two other detained activists said that they would look for advocates themselves.