Relatives of activists deported from Germany hold a protest in Baku

At a protest action near the German Embassy in Baku, relatives of those who were deported to Azerbaijan and later arrested called on the German government not to remain indifferent to the fate of those people. The police pushed the protesters away from the diplomatic mission building.

The action was attended by relatives of Pyunkhan Kerimli, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), and activist Samir Ashurov. They were supported by Gyulmira Aslanova, a wife of imprisoned journalist Polad Aslanov, and Sevindj Sadygova, a wife of former political prisoner Afghan Sadygov.

Samir Ashurov was among 38 Azerbaijani citizens who were returned from Germany, and on April 19, he was detained in Baku on the charge of attacking a man with a knife. Human rights defenders called his case political persecution. PFPA member Pyunkhan Kerimli, deported from Germany in November 2021, was arrested on the charge of drug trafficking. Activists Ziya Ibragimli, Djafar Mirzoev, Malik Rzaev, and Mutallim Orudjev were also deported from Germany.

Vakhid Kerimov said that his son was “arrested on a slanderous charge.”

Samir Ashurov’s wife Nurana complained that the embassy did not consider her applications.