11:28, 29 June 2020

Azerbaijani activist Elshad Ataev arrested for 10 days

Elshad Ataev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been arrested for 10 days on charges of disobedience to the police. The PFPA believes that he is persecuted for criticizing the authorities.

Ataev was detained on June 26, Gezyal Bairamly, the PFPA deputy chair, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. She believes that Ataev was arrested because of his activeness in social networks and criticism of the authorities. "It seems that authorities are launching a new wave of repressions against our party, which coincides with the toughening of the quarantine," she has noted.

On June 25, Firdovsi Amrakhov, a PFPA activist, was detained in the city of Ganja; his party colleagues have linked his persecution with his criticism of the authorities. The next day, Faig Rashidov, another PFPA activist was detained; the court arrested him for 10 days on charges of disseminating prohibited information.

"The tighter quarantine deprives people of earnings and causes discontent among the population ... Authorities are wary of popular unrests and proactively arrest activists," Ms Bairamly said.

Let us remind you that on May 27, the human rights organization "Amnesty International" (AI) stated that Azerbaijani authorities are using restrictions imposed due to the pandemic to prosecute opponents, and demanded to release the arrested activists.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 28, 2020 at 10:47 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent