In Baku, police disrupt a protest rally of a Ukrainian woman

Alyona Azizova, a citizen of Ukraine, was detained today while trying to hold a solo protest action in front of the Russian Embassy in Baku against the special military operation in Ukraine. The woman was taken to a police station and then released.

Today, at around noon, Alyona Azizova, a resident of Azerbaijan, who identified herself as a citizen of Ukraine, came to the building of the Russian Embassy in Baku. In her hands, the woman was holding a flag of Ukraine and a poster with slogans in Azerbaijani condemning the actions of the Russian army.

An online broadcast from the site of the protest action was conducted on the Facebook* page of Seimur Khazi, the deputy chair of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). The protesting woman, who was chanting the slogans condemning the actions of the Russian army, was approached by the police. Policemen seized her poster and pushed her away from the building of the Russian Embassy.

Alyona Azizova told the policemen who interfered with her action that she was holding a peaceful protest. The policemen detained the woman and took her to the 20th branch of the Nasimi district police department of Baku.

Later, Alyona Azizova was released without any penalties, a spokesperson for the “Civil Initiative Platform of Azerbaijan’s Solidarity with Ukraine” told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

* On March 21, the Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned the activities in Russia of the Meta Company, owning Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in connection with extremist activities.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 23, 2022 at 12:41 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.