In Azerbaijan, Court sentences adviser to leader of "Musavat" Party to 15-day arrest

Mustafa Gadjibeili, an adviser to the leader of the Azerbaijani "Musavat" Party, was sentenced by the court to 15-day administrative arrest as punishment for disorderly conduct. This was reported by his brother Vagif. The "Musavat" Party treats the arrest as politically motivated and demands to release the arrested man.

Vagif Gadjibeili, who is a lawyer by profession, believes that the detention and the court proceedings were conducted with "gross violations of the laws".

According to his story, Mustafa Gadjibeili was "in fact kidnapped by persons in civilian clothes", and the family members were not informed of the detention.

"Only in the evening, after 5-6 hours, we managed to get answers to inquiries to the Ombudsman's office and the unit on duty of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) about keeping of Mustafa at the Absheron district police department," Vagif Gadjibeili told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This morning, at about 10:00 a.m., the detainee was brought to the Absheron District Court. Meanwhile, advocate and family members of Mustafa were not allowed to attend the court session.

"We were told that Mustafa would be defended by a public advocate. However, it is unlawful to appoint a public advocate, while he has his own. Moreover, administrative proceedings should be open," Vagif Gadjibeili emphasizes.

According to his information, Mustafa Gadjibeili was in court for three hours. "At about 01:00 p.m., we were informed that he was sentenced to 15-day arrest for disorderly conduct. This is the maximum penalty for the offence. However, we still do not know of what specifically Mustafa is charged," his brother of the arrested man said.

Vagif Gadjibeili has also noted that the court had taken reinforced security measures. According to his information, activists of the "Musavat" Party were advised not to come to the court building to avoid provocations and confrontation with the police. However, in the morning, a small group of supporters of Mustafa Gadjibeili gathered in front of the court, and the police pushed the supporters back from the building.

The brother of the arrested man has announced his intention to appeal against the verdict at the court because of gross violations of the Mustafa Gadjibeili's rights. Besides, he believes the Court's decision was politically motivated.