14:31, 3 June 2017

In Tbilisi, memorial of Heydar Aliev poured with paint

The memorial to Heydar Aliev in Tbilisi. Photo by Inna Kukudzhanova for "Caucasian Knot"

In the centre of the Georgian capital, the memorial to Heydar Aliev, the third president of Azerbaijan, was poured with paint.

Signs of paint on the monument were discovered at night, and it was cleaned by workers of the cleaning service of the Tbilisi administration.

The act of vandalism could be connected with the Afghan Mukhtarly's case, the "Sputnik-Georgia" reports.

On May 29, Afghan Mukhtarly, an Azerbaijani journalist, who lived in Tbilisi, disappeared. On May 30, he reported that he was taken from Tbilisi to Baku. According to Afghan Mukhtarly, in the course of his kidnapping, he was subjected to violence and beatings. On May 31, the Sabail District Court of Baku made a decision to take Afghan Mukhtarly into custody, and the defence appealed against his arrest.

Let us remind you that in late 2016, the Baku Grave Crimes Court found Giyas Ibragimov and Bairam Mamedov guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced each of them to 10 years of imprisonment. Both activists treat the criminal prosecution as a revenge for graffiti on the pedestal of the monument to Heydar Aliev in Baku reading: "Qul bayramınız mübarək!" (Congratulations on slaves' holiday!) And "F...k the system!"

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