Protesters from tent camp near Kullar village plead not guilty

People arrested in a criminal case on protest actions at a tent camp arranged on the border of Dagestan and Azerbaijan believe that they are not guilty. The authorities of the Derbent District and the national-cultural autonomy of Azerbaijanis report different numbers of people who now stay at the tent camp.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a temporary accommodation centre (TAC) has been opened on the border near Dagestan for citizens of Azerbaijan who could not get home because of the closure of the state borders. On June 24, the additional places were deployed in the camp.

An advocate was hired to protect three arrested persons, reported Mekhman Aliev, the director of the "Turan" agency.

"There should be no obstacles to the return of people to their homeland. Azerbaijan has obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights," he noted.

According to Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the "Civic Assistance Committee", the Russian side was supposed to let Azerbaijani citizens go to the border.

About 400 Azerbaijani citizens still stay on the territories of Derbent and the Derbent District, the press service of the administration for the Derbent District reports.

Meanwhile, Rakif Azizov, the chairman of the local national-cultural autonomy of Azerbaijanis in the city of Makhachkala, reported that as of July 3, 820 Azerbaijani citizens were registered in the tent camp in the village of Kullar.

According to Rakif Azizov, because of the difficult epidemiological situation in Azerbaijan, it is impossible to let into the country everyone who now stays at the camp.

The tent camp is full, and people have to live in improvised tents, says a citizen of Azerbaijan. The man has been staying in the Derbent District for a month.

"It is impossible to stay at the camp, it is very hot. People continue to arrive," the citizen of Azerbaijan said.