The action of commemoration of blogger Mehman Galandarov

Baku / 29.04.19 / Turan: On 29 April, a group of civil society activists and journalists visited the grave of blogger Mehman Galandarov on the execution of the second anniversary of his death in Baku pre-trial detention center - 1. Protesters questioned the official version of the blogger suicide and demanded the resumption of the investigation and a thorough investigation. Galandarov was arrested on February 7, 2017 on charges of drug trafficking (the Article 234.2). Before the arrest, he wrote on his Facebook page: "We will all be like Giyas, we will not be slaves," thus expressing solidarity with Giyas Ibrahimov and Bayram Mammadov, who were imprisoned after writing political slogans on the monument to Heydar Aliyev (both were pardoned in March 2019). According to the official version, on April 28, 2017, Galandarov committed suicide in the detention center.

A lawsuit was filed under the Article 125 (bringing to suicide) of the Criminal Code on the fact of the death of Galandarov in the Sabunchu district prosecutor's office. Subsequently, the Baku City Prosecutor"s Office discontinued the case, considering that there was no crime in Galandarov"s death and he committed suicide. At today's ceremony, human rights activist Ogtay Gyulalyev questioned the objectivity of the investigation. He recalled that Galandarov recently lived before his arrest in Georgia and took part in protest actions against human rights violations in Azerbaijan. On his return to Baku, he held a single rally in front of H.Aliyev"s monument in defense of G.Ibrahimov and B.Mammadov.

"He died in the isolation ward. Alleged that he committed suicide. However, he was buried secretly from society under the cover of night. This causes questions ... Mehman Galandarov was a man-wrestler and such people do not commit suicide. We wanted to inspect the camera of Galandarov, the place where it is alleged that he committed suicide, to participate in investigative actions. However, neither the prosecutor's office, nor the penitentiary service, nor other bodies responded to our appeals. Then the case was closed. Even the information about this did not want to make public. The Turan Agency and the Voice of America, although with great difficulty, obtained this information and spread it," Gulalyev said.

He drew attention to the fact that, despite appeals from the US State Department, Amnesty International organizations, Reporters without Borders, Freedom House, the EU, the Council of Europe for a comprehensive investigation into the death of Galandarov, the circumstances of his death are still unclear.

The director of the Turan agency, Mehman Aliyev, noted that a lot has changed in the two years after Galandarov"s death in the country. "When Giyas Ibrahimov was released, he said that fear disappeared from people. This applies not only to journalistic activities. Society itself has become a great source of information. The authorities are forced to respond to the demands of society. These changes in society are made possible by the struggle of such selfless people as Mehman Galandarov," said Aliyev. The head of the Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety, blogger Mehman Huseynov, called for new investigations into the death of journalists. "The murders of Elmar Huseynov, Rasim Aliyev and my deceased mother have not been investigated. There are many doubtful moments in these deaths. Someone is behind this and these are not accidental deaths," said Huseynov.

Released after a 30-day administrative arrest, Bayram Mammadov said that after learning of Galandarov"s single action, in his defense, he was at first happy. "Then I learned that Mehman Galandarov committed suicide. I do not accept it as suicide. I experienced moral shock.

I think that his death is our fault. For 45 days, Mehman Galandarov was left without a lawyer and defense. We, allowed the authorities to treat him as they please. Even on the first day of his arrest, he was told that "you will be killed" and we will create fear in society so that this does not happen again. His arrest was a direct political order, and the day will come when all the guilty will answer for it," Mammadov said. Giyas Ibrahimov called the death of Galandarov "political murder." "We must raise the voice of protest not after people die, but before they are arrested," Ibrahimov said. - 03C-