PFPA activist arrested in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani activist Jeikhun Rzaev, who was detained in Mingachevir, was sentenced to 10 days of arrest for disobeying the police. Members of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) treat the activist's arrest as politically motivated.

On May 9, Jeikhun Rzaev was detained after he pasted a portrait of Mamed Emin Rasulzade, one of the founders of the Azerbaijan People's Republic, to the monument with the symbols of the Azerbaijan's flag – a crescent moon with an eight-pointed star – in the city of Mingachevir, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Gezyal Bairamly, the deputy chair of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

Gezyal Bairamly explained that the activist chose such a way to draw public attention to the fact that the memory of Mamed Emin Rasulzade was not immortalized "at the proper level." According to the PFPA's deputy chair, Jeikhun Rzaev and Elchin Gasanzade, a journalist and an activist, who was recording the action on photos and videos, were detained and taken to a police station. Elchin Gasanzade was set free after a while, and on May 10, Jeikhun Rzaev faced trial, and the court pronounced a decision to arrest him for ten days, the PFPA deputy chair stated.

"It is ridiculous to imprison a person for a peaceful action," Gezyal Bairamly said. The PFPA deputy chair has also added that the arrest of the activist will be challenged. She emphasized that Jeikhun Rzaev became the fifteenth PFPA activist arrested within the past month.

"A conveyor of arrests of PFPA activists has been launched. After the expiration of their sentences, some go out, and others are imprisoned and replace them. The regime fears of public discontent amid the worsening economic situation because of the coronavirus pandemic and the falling oil prices. And the authorities find nothing better to do but to imprison activists of our party," Gezyal Bairamly stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 11, 2020 at 06:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.