23:52, 19 September 2017

Police stop AIP congress

The police have blocked the building, where an event was scheduled in honour of the 25th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Islamic Party (AIP).

The jubilee sitting was to be held today in the palace of the "Kyamal Narmin" Celebration Palace in Baku. However, not long before the start, plenty policemen arrived at the building.

"They blocked the doors of the restaurant, not allowing guests to enter. Moreover, they forced party functionaries and guests away from the palace," the AIP has stated.

Policemen also exerted pressure on those who tried to photo and video the incident.

The party’s statement notes that the violent actions against party activists are incompatible with the announcement of the year 2017 in Azerbaijan "The Year of Islamic Solidarity".

According to the AIP’s information, the police explained their actions by the fact that some poisonous substances had got into the restaurant’s water system.

However, Gadji Ilham Aliev, the acting AIP head, has treated the disruption of the sitting as officials’ desire to "provoke unrests in the country."

The AIP was established in 1991 in the swelling settlement of Nardaran, inhabited by Shiite Muslims. In 1995, it was deprived of state registration, as its leaders were found guilty of cooperation with the Iranian intelligence service and of an attempted coup d'état.

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

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent