Azerbaijani oppositionist Gusein Melik arrested for 25 days

A court in Baku has appointed administrative arrest to Gusein Melik, an activist of the oppositional "Movement for Democracy and Prosperity" (MDP). The movement leadership believes that the reason for persecuting Mr Melik was in his criticism of the authorities in social networks.

Gusein Melik was detained last night in Baku by people in civilian clothes, Ellada Mamedli, the Deputy Chair of the MDP, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "In the morning, his neighbours saw that the door of Gusein's apartment was broken. They reported this to his friends. As it turned out, around three o'clock at night the door was broken by people in civilian clothes, who handcuffed Gusein and took him away," said Ms Mamedli.

According to her story, it was only in the afternoon of that day that MDP activists received confirmation at the Sabail District Court that Melik was administratively arrested for 25 days. It is not clear what administrative offense was imputed to him, Ms Mamedli has added, noting that an independent lawyer will be invited to appeal against Melik's arrest.

The MDP has made a statement, in which the Melik's arrest was linked with his participation in the social movement and activeness in social networks. The movement treats Melik's detention as kidnapping. "We are more than convinced that Gusein Melik was arrested for his critical posts on the Facebook," Gubad Ibadoglu, the leader of the MDP, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 5, 2018 at 06:51 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.