Three Azerbaijanis arrested in Dagestan provided with defence

Advocates have begun defending the rights of three out of ten Azerbaijani citizens arrested under the criminal case opened in connection with the events in Kullar on June 15. Activists are trying to find advocates for the remaining seven figurants in the case, Emin Guseinov, the director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a temporary accommodation centre (TAC) was opened on the border of the Derbent and Magaramkent Districts of Dagestan for the citizens of Azerbaijan who failed to get home due to the border closure. On June 15, a protest action took place in the tent camp, which turned into clashes with law enforcers. A criminal case was opened against 10 Azerbaijanis on the use of violence against state servants and the deliberate destruction or damage to property; all of them were arrested by a court judgement for two months.

An advocate from Derbent, who responded to activists' request to defend them, managed to meet with three out of the 10 arrested persons, Mr Guseinov, who is also coordinating a public campaign in defence of the arrested Azerbaijani citizens, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Emin Guseinov, the advocate will take steps to appeal against the arrest and transfer the detainees to house arrest. "At the same time, we continue efforts to ensure defence for the remaining seven citizens of Azerbaijan," Mr Guseinov has added.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 6, 2020 at 09:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.