Azerbaijani court leaves activist Mamedzade under arrest

A court in the city Sumgait has left Djavid Mamedzade under arrest. The activist has every reason to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) claiming to recognize his arrest illegal, his advocate believes.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 26, Djavid Mamedzade was summoned to the police station, where they demanded from him not to post information about Mamed Emin Rasulzade, one of the founders of the People's Republic of Azerbaijan, in social networks.

Asabali Mustafaev, the activist's advocate, has stated that the court refused to consider the defence's motions.

"It's obvious that Djavid Mamedzade was arrested on trumped-up charges. The true reason for the arrest is his coverage of the personality of Mamed Emin Rasulzade, who back in early 20th century promoted democratic values and realized them in the People's Republic of Azerbaijan that existed in 1918-1920. These values are alien to the current authorities; therefore, they are suppressing any discussions of Rasulzade's merits in every possible way. In May 2020, Djeikhun Rzaev, another activist, was arrested for 10 days in Mingachevir for sticking Rasulzade's portrait in some public place," said Elshan Gasanov, the head of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners.