Presentation of Georgian Dossier in Tbilisi

Baku / 06.11.17 / Turan: Presentation of the English version of the report The Georgian Case: Persecution, Arrests and Existing Realities prepared by the Azerbaijani Center for the Protection of Political Prisoners was held in Tbilisi on Sunday.

The report was presented by the coordinator for Georgia of the Azerbaijan Institute of Freedom and Safety of Reporters (IRFS), Dany Burns and a freelance journalist Nurana Mammad.

The report reflects the facts of pressure in Georgia on Azerbaijani political immigrants, journalists and businessmen, and arrests of some of them. In particular, specific facts of persecution of activists under the pressure of official Baku are given.

One of them was the blogger Mehman Galandarov, who criticized the Azerbaijani authorities on the Internet. He was one of the organizers of the protest action in front of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tbilisi in September 2016 against the reactionary amendments to the Constitution. Upon his return to Baku, he was arrested on false charges of possession of drugs. On April 28, Galandarov died under suspicious circumstances in the Baku detention center.

Further in the report, it is said about the arrest of the deputy chairman of the Popular Front Party Gezal Bayramli on May 25, 2017 when crossing the Azerbaijani-Georgian border. She was accused of smuggling, having been planted 12,000 dollars in her baggage. The authorities accused Bayramli of receiving money from the West.

The independent investigative journalist Afgan Mukhtarli lived in Georgia until May 29, 2017, but was kidnapped, beaten and forcibly taken to Baku. He was also accused of smuggling and illegal crossing of the border.

Mukhtarli said in court that he was forcibly taken from Georgia to the border and put 10 thousand euros in his pocket.

The report also focuses attention on the arrest in Tbilisi of the founder and owner of the Lancet clinic Farman Jeyranly, who had to curtail his business in Azerbaijan before.

"The humanitarian and political protection of Azerbaijani political emigrants living and functioning in Georgia is very weak. It is necessary that local and international organizations strengthen efforts to ensure the security, humanitarian and political protection of these emigrants," the study authors note. -06D-