Son of Rafig Dashdamirli, PFPA activist, arrested in Azerbaijan for alleged drug trafficking

Senan Dashdamirli, a son of Rafig Dashdamirli, the head of the organizational division of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was arrested in Baku on charges of illegal drug dealing. The young man and his father have rejected the accusation, saying that it was politically motivated.

Senan Dashdamirli was charged under Article 234.4.3 (large-scale illegal possession and sale of drugs) of the Criminal Code, which assumes from 5 to 12 years of imprisonment. According to investigators, at detention, policemen found 3.2 grams of heroin on Dashdamirli, said his advocate Azer Nagiev.

According to his story, the Narimanov District Court has ruled to arrest Senan for three months, noting that an appeal complaint has not been decided yet.

As stated by Rafig Dashdamirli "provocations had long been prepared against him." "The arrest of my son is a pressure on me and our family because of my political activities... Shortly before the arrest of my son, his profile on the Facebook was hacked; and false message were sent to my friends from there," he said.

The PFPA leader Ali Kerimli believes that the arrest of Senan a few days after an oppositional rally demanding the release of political prisoners was "non-occasional."

In the opinion of Vidadi Mirkamal, a lawyer and a member of the National Council of Democratic Forces (NCDF), Article 234.4.3 is often used against journalists, bloggers, political activists and their relatives.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.