"Musavat" Party activist fined in Baku on drug case

A Baku court has imposed an administrative fine on Ilgar Makhmud, an activist of the oppositional "Musavat" Party, accused of drug use; the activist himself denied the charge.

Ilgar Makhmud was detained on Friday, September 13, in Baku. "He was detained near his home," Faradj Kerimli, a deputy chairman of the "Musavat" Party, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

On September 14, Ilgar Makhmud was released after the Binagadi District Court of Baku had fined him by 300 manats (USD 180). The activist was found guilty of drug use.

The activist himself told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about this and rejected the charge. Ilgar Makhmud told that on September 13, he was stopped by three persons in civilian clothes, when he was driving in his private car on the highway towards Khyrdalan.

"I've never used drugs. I disagree with the court's judgement and intend to challenge it, and having passed through all the instances, I'll complain to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)," Ilgar has stated, adding that he did not know the particular reasons for his detention. "But they made it clear to me that the detention and the fine have to do with my political activities. They told me: 'You yourself know very well the reasons'," said Ilgar Makhmud.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 14, 2019 at 06:47 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.