25 February 2021, 11:56

Oppositionists link Abbasov's arrest with his criticism of Azerbaijan President

Elmir Abbasov, a member of the "Nida" movement, has refused to plead guilty of a drug-related offense. The opposition believes that Abbasov is being persecuted because of his post about the corruption nature of Ilham Aliev's regime.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Elmir Abbasov, an activist and a member of the "Nida" movement, was arrested for 30 days on charges of illegal drug use.

"Abbasov has stated that he is prosecuted for his critical publications on the Facebook; he was detained when he went out to the store to buy bread," Elchin Sadygov, an advocate, has stated.

According to the advocate, after detention, Abbasov's rights were violated – he was deprived of the opportunity to invite an advocate of his choice and contact his relatives. The defence has prepared a complaint against his arrest.

Abbasov was detained on January 12, 2021, because of his post on the Facebook about the head of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, the activist himself believes. "They talked with me for two hours and released me after I deleted the post," he said.

"Elmir is an active 'Nida' member; he was detained more than once for participating in protests and posts in social networks. However, he was arrested for the first time," said Turgut Gambar, a board member of the "Nida" movement.

Emin Guseinov, the director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), has called "Nida" the most active youth organization in Azerbaijan over the past decade.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 25, 2021 at 01:34 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent

All news
НАСТОЯЩИЙ МАТЕРИАЛ (ИНФОРМАЦИЯ) ПРОИЗВЕДЕН И РАСПРОСТРАНЕН ИНОСТРАННЫМ АГЕНТОМ ООО “МЕМО”, ЛИБО КАСАЕТСЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА ООО “МЕМО”.

March 28, 2024 22:19

  • Court extends arrest of blogger Alyona Agafonova

    Alyona Agafonova, a blogger from Samara, accused of desecrating a symbol of military glory because of her video filmed near the monument "The Motherland is Calling!" has been left in custody until June 19.

March 28, 2024 22:13

March 28, 2024 22:03

  • Attack on Crocus City Hall highlights issue of state assistance to victims of terror acts

    In Russia, the status of victims of terror acts should be legislated and state assistance should be guaranteed to them, human rights defenders claim after the terror act at the Crocus City Hall. According to the human rights defenders, the authorities still do not provide full-scale assistance to the victims of the terror act in Beslan and the militant attack on Nalchik.

March 27, 2024 16:51

March 27, 2024 14:49

News archive