After kidnapping, Bakhtiyar Gadjiev achieves criminal case

Bakhtiyar Gadjiev, an activist, was informed by the Azerbaijani police that after his kidnapping and complaints about received threats, a criminal case was opened under the article on hooliganism.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 23, Bakhtiyar Gadjiev, the head of the NGO "Positive Changes" stated that in the evening on April 21, he was kidnapped by four masked men, who took him to a Baku suburb, where he was subjected to humiliating treatment. The activist said that the kidnappers demanded from him to delete his critical posts about the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and a pro-governmental activist, and threatened to execute him if he continued criticizing the Interior Minister. Gadjiev said that after that he managed to get an appointment with Ismet Aliev, a deputy MIA head, but at the meeting he came to the conclusion that law enforcers "had no intention to objectively investigate his case."

Later Bakhtiyar told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that a criminal case was opened on the fact of his kidnapping and physical pressure. "Today (on March 25), I was received by the head of the MIA's Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime. I was told that a criminal case had been opened in connection with my kidnapping, threats and bullying under Article 221.1 of the Criminal Code (on hooliganism, – note of the 'Caucasian Knot')," Mr Gadjiev has explained.

However, he doubts that the investigation will bring fruit. Almost four days have passed since the incident, but the police still have not watched the records from surveillance cameras located in the territory from which he was kidnapped.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 25, 2022 at 08:45 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.