Activist Azer Kazimzadeh Released in Tbilisi (UPDATED)

Baku / 20.09.18 / Turan: The Azerbaijani activist, blogger and journalist Azer Kazimzadeh, detained in Tbilisi last night, was released in the morning.

Kazimzadeh told Turan IA that the day before he noticed street surveillance, which was conducted by three. "I found out that one of them was an Azerbaijani who had been following me before. I returned home and they followed me and began to knock on the door persistently. However, they did not answer my questions. After that, they began to break the door. I called the police at number 112, after which the knocking on the door stopped and they went away. I looked out the window and found out the same Azerbaijani who had been following me," Kazimzadeh said.

In 10 minutes the police arrived and 15 minutes later (around 22.00) Kazimzadeh was taken to the police, without specifying in what capacity they were taking him.

"In the first Vake-Saburtalo police department, I was questioned by the Georgian police in a way they do it in the Baku police: "Why are you criticizing Ilham Aliyev?", "Why did you come to Georgia, and did not go to democratic countries?", "What means do you live on?" and "Do you have any bank accounts?".

This interrogation lasted 3 hours. The situation changed after the lawyer came. I gave evidence about threats against me. 2.5-3 hours later I was released," Kazimzadeh said.

According to him, at present he is in a rented apartment, but he does not feel safe. "I am at home now. Perhaps after I turned to the police, they will be quiet for two or three days, but there is no guarantee that the threats will not resume.

In the past 10 days my family in Azerbaijan has been under pressure. A police representative in Lerik told my father that I would be reached in Georgia. He demanded that I remove the photos of Heydar Aliyev's monuments in Sheki and Lankaran with faces drawn on Facebook - a symbol of the Oyan movement, and in general stop criticizing the authorities, and "keep quiet". It's dangerous for me to be in Georgia, as I do not want to repeat the fate of Afghan Mukhtarly," Kazimzadeh said. He intends to apply to the embassies of the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, and France.

The movement Oyan (Wake Up!) was established by a group of expatriate Azerbaijani political activists in Amsterdam on March 5, 2016. The emblem of the movement is a sandglass that symbolizes the flow of time - the gradual awakening of the people to fight for their rights.

Representatives of law enforcement bodies of Georgia and Azerbaijan have not commented on the situation. -03B06--

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2018 September 19 (Wednesday) 23:49:09

Azerbaijani Activist Azer Kazimzadeh Detained in Tbilisi

Baku / 19.09.18 / Turan: An Azerbaijani activist, administrator of the Düşün TV page on Facebook, Azer Kazimzade was detained in Tbilisi on the evening of September 19.

"At present, the police are taking me to the Tbilisi Police Department," the activist wrote on Facebook at 22.20.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper Azadlig, Ganimat Zahid, who is currently living in France, reported at 22.25 that he had talked to Kazimzadeh by phone.

"I've just talked to Azer Kazimzadeh. He was given a phone for five minutes. He is currently in the police. The reason for the detention is not clear. It is urgent to inform the human rights bodies of Georgia. This time, the story of Mukhtarly can be repeated in an open form," Zahid wrote on Facebook.

"Azer is currently in the police of the Vake district," said another political emigrant, Rasul Mursalov.

Kazimzadeh has been living in Tbilisi for more than a year. In social networks he sharply criticizes the authorities of Azerbaijan, placing collages and slogans.

His last interview on Düşün TV was with the chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces Jamil Hasanli.

Recall that another Azerbaijani political immigrant, journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was abducted in Tbilisi in May 2017. -03B06--