11:35, 19 October 2018

In Baku, Court confirms arrest of oppositionist Nemat Panakhly

The Baku Court of Appeal (BCA) has dismissed a complaint filed by Nemat Panakhly, the chairman of the National Statehood Party of Azerbaijan, about his administrative arrest. The oppositionist associated his prosecution with the criticism of the authorities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 12, Nemat Panakhly was arrested for 30 days on suspicion of disobeying the police. Rights defenders did not rule out that the political statements voiced by Nemat Panakhly were the true reason for his arrest.

The activist himself associated his arrest with an interview he gave to the "Obyektiv Tv" online TV Channel. "In the interview, I criticized the authorities, mentioned Ali Gasanov, Sheikh (Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan on social and political issues and the head of the Caucasus Muslims Office, note of the 'Caucasian Knot')," said Nemat Panakhly.

In a video posted on the "Obyektiv.tv" page on Facebook, Nemat Panakhly criticized the country's authorities for the "poor situation of the population," corruption, and failure to resolve the Karabakh conflict.

Earlier, Nemat Panakhly has also stated that the authorities persecute him for his political activities. In June 2011, he was sentenced to six years of imprisonment in a case on disorderly conduct. In October 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recognized the arrest of Nemat Panakhly as illegal.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 19, 2018 at 11:04 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent