Son of Rustamov, arrested in Baku, complains about absence of Russian help

The Russian Embassy to Azerbaijan has refused to help in arranging a meeting with a Russian citizen Salekh Rustamov, who was arrested in Baku on charges of illegal sponsoring the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), his son has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Salekh Rustamov was arrested in Azerbaijan on May 9 on charges of illegal drug trading. On May 10, his nephew, Azerbaijani citizen Vidadi Rustamli, was also arrested on the same charge. Relatives said that Salekh Rustamov has pled guilty under torture, and asked the Russian Embassy for help.

Today, Sezgin Rustamov, Salekh's son, also a citizen of Russia, has spread an application describing his appeal to the Russian Embassy for help.

"I asked to help in visiting my father kept at Baku SIZO-1 (pre-trial prison), and asked them to get interested in his case and provide him with legal support. They asked me about the charges against my father. I said that he was arrested in connection with drugs. They promised to clear out and help. When I went back to the embassy to find out about the results, they told me that they could not help because my father had links with a 'banned organization.' I was told that if the case was connected with drugs or some other criminal offense, they could help. However, because the case has to do with the oppositional PFPA, they cannot," said Sezgin Rustamov.

He expressed disappointment that the Russian Embassy refused to help a Russian citizen and were still uninterested about his fate.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 14, 2018 at 06:12 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.