Human Rights Agency Announces Start of New Wave of Repression
Baku / 13.03.20 / Turan: After the end of the parliamentary elections, a new wave of repressions against critics of the authorities began, a member of the Committee against Repression and Torture Alovsat Sadigly told Turan.
So, on March 13, Araz Guliyev was abducted in the city of Shirvan. This happened after he spoke on the YouTube channel Xalq TV with harsh criticism of the authorities and demonstratively tore and burned his membership card of the New Azerbaijan Party.
Sadigly believes that Guliyev is probably being tortured.
On March 13, Elvin Murvatoglu, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement (MUM), also disappeared. Communication with him ended after he left the house to go to the mosque. Murvatoglu is known as the author of songs dedicated to the arrested MUM leader Taleh Bagirzadeh.
On February 5, he was detained at the airport on his return from Russia.
The Committee against Repression and Torture also issued a statement regarding the administrative arrest for 2 months of the activist Fuad Ismayilov. As a member with an advisory vote of the precinct election commission in the 32nd Surakhany Third constituency, Fuad Ismayilov posted a video of the violations during the February 9 vote. Police officers removed him from the site with violence.
After the election, he wrote on the wall of the building opposite the CEC “Boo, Mazi!”, thus expressing a protest against the head of the CEC for refusing to consider complaints of fraud during the election. On March 7, Ismayilov was administratively arrested for two months on charges of drug use. On March 13, the appeals court upheld the verdict.
The statement states that as a result of the torture, Ismayilov’s ear was damaged and his teeth were broken, and he is constantly under physical and moral pressure, deprived of access to his lawyer. The activist has been on a hunger strike since March 7. If urgent measures are not taken, Ismayilov’s life may be in danger.
The Committee condemned the physical and psychological pressure on Ismayilov and demanded identifying and punishing the police officers involved in the torture, and putting an end to such actions in the future.— 06B-
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