Head of NCDF office in Ukraine detained, his cousin reports

Yalchin Gakhramanoglu, a citizen of Azerbaijan and the head of the office of the oppositional National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF) in Ukraine, was detained in Baku Airport upon his arrival from Kiev, said his cousin Sabir Binnetli.

According to Binnetli, Gakhramanoglu arrived from Kiev in the evening on July 28 with the members of his family.

"They were first detained by border guards under the pretext of 'problems with documents'. They accompanied Yalchin and his family up to the exit from the customs checkpoint. Thereafter, they handed Yalchin over to three police officers – a lieutenant and two sergeants. When I asked them about the reasons for Yalchin's detention, the police officer said that he had a 'debt to the bank.' But when I said that Yalchin had not lived in Azerbaijan for several years, they said that allegedly his 'ex-wife complained about him.' Then, the policemen told me they didn't know the reasons for the detention, and fulfilled the order," said Binnetli.

According to his story, the telephone communication with Gakhramanoglu stopped on July 29. Now his relatives are searching for an advocate.

The executive office of the NCDF said that they know about Gakhramanoglu's detention and are trying to clarify the reasons.

We can add here that on June 9 a group of Azerbaijanis living in Kiev held a meeting, where they decided to set up a representative office of the NCDF in Ukraine. Yalchin Gakhramanoglu was elected as its head.