Azerbaijani oppositionist Alizamin Salaev arrested for 30 days

Alizamin Salaev, an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, was placed under arrest for 30 days for failure to obey the police. The activist tried to hold a protest action but was detained, his son said.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on April 20, 2020, Alizamin Salaev was found guilty of defamation and insult and sentenced to two years and three months of imprisonment. The charge was based on a video with the criticism of a policeman posted on social media. In January 2022, Alizamin Salaev was released under the amnesty.

On July 7, Alizamin Salaev, the chair of the Salyan regional department of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was arrested for 30 days. The activist was found guilty of failure to obey the police, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent learned from the regional group of the press service for the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

On July 7, Alizamin Salaev was detained in the central park of the town of Salyan, when he “violated public order while in a state of alcoholic intoxication,” reported Nizami Gamidov, the chief inspector of the regional group of the MIA’s press service.

According to Ogtai, a son of Alizamin Salaev, on July 7, the father tried to hold a protest action in the central park in Salyan and go live on Facebook*. “However, the father was rudely detained,” Ogtai Salaev said.

Seimur Khazi, the deputy chair of the PFPA, associated the arrest of Alizamin Salaev with his political activities and civic activism. According to the PFPA deputy chair, the police allegations that the activist was in a state of alcoholic intoxication “do not correspond to reality.”

*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 July 8, 2022 at 03:56 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.