Azerbaijani GPO questions "Defence Line" Director after his statement about activist's torture

On August 3, Rufat Safarov, the executive director of the human rights organization "Defence Line", was summoned the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Azerbaijan and interrogated within the case of the July 15 unsanctioned rally.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night on July 15, in Baku, a march took place in support of the Azerbaijani army, which ended in clashes with the police. On July 31, the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) reported that the number of party activists detained after the rally had increased up to 46.

The GPO issued a warning to Rufat Safarov in connection with the dissemination of information about the torture of Fuad Gakhramanly, who is accused within the same case.

"I was presented with claims regarding information about the torture of Fuad Gakhramanly. I said that the 'Defence Line' received information about this from reliable sources. Taking into account that during the detention, no advocate was let to Fuad Gakhramanly and he had no phone communication with advocates and his family, we decided to spread this information, provided that our sources remain anonymous. We appealed to the Ombudsperson and the International Committee of the Red Cross urging them to take the issue under control; we also urged the GPO to take urgent measures to investigate the case and give a legal assessment thereof. As we understood, the GPO claims that the information about torture is groundless. But if the advocate is still not allowed to visit Gakhramanly, naturally, the fate of this person cannot but worry us," Mr Safarov has stated, adding that the GPO has warned him, claiming that he was spreading "false information."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 3, 2020 at 10:08 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.