Polad Aslanov’s brother released after five days of arrest

Niyameddin Aslanzade has served the administrative arrest imposed on him after a complaint from the Ombudsman Office and intends to appeal against the court’s decision.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Niyameddin Aslanzade, a brother of sentenced Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov, was administratively arrested for reasons unknown to his relatives. The journalist believes that the arrest of his brother is a way of putting pressure on him.

Today, at about 4:00 p.m. Niyameddin Aslanzade has been released. The man said that he was arrested on a complaint from the Office of the Ombudsman of Azerbaijan. “In July, my brother was on a hunger strike. Then I called the hotline of the Ombudsman Office and expressed my indignation that employees of the office were not interested in asking about my brother’s health. I was told that everything was fine with my brother and that, according to their information, he was not on a hunger strike. In response, I said that if I told a lie, then let me be damned, and if they told a lie, then let them be damned. That is, it was not an insult, but simply an expression of opinion,” Niyameddin Aslanzade told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

On August 26, he was summoned to the police station, Niyameddin Aslanzade said. “I was forced to confess that I had insulted the employees of the Ombudsman Office. I was rudely told that if I did not confess, then ‘it would be even worse.’ Then another district police inspector took me to court, where an appointed advocate was provided to me. The police protocol did not contain the date of the incident and did not describe what the insult of the Ombudsman’s representatives was. No names of the employee or employees whom I ‘had insulted’ were indicated. Neither a representative of the Ombudsman, nor an authorized attended the trial. Even the appointed advocate said there was no legal basis for punishment. However, a judge sentenced me to five days of administrative arrest on the charge of petty hooliganism,” the Polad Aslanov’s brother said.

Niyameddin Aslanzade intends to file an appeal against the court’s decision.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 31, 2021 at 06:37 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.