The Prosecutor Office looks for a relationship between USM and NIDA

Prosecutor General Office issued a statement regarding the inspection in the office of the Free Thought University (FTU.) Prosecutor Office refuted the closing of the FTU, and at the same time reported the seizure of documents of this structure.

These measures are linked to the criminal case against members of the NIDA Youth Movement, with the abuses of the law, and the coincidence of the names of the founders with the founders of the OL organization (this youth organization is implementing the FTU project.) The investigation also found that the OL in violation of the law does not state registration, did  not represent to the state agencies with reports on their activities and illegally received funds from foreign organizations.

To verify the legitimacy of the organization and how large sums of foreign organizations were used, the members of the prosecution withdraw from the office of the organization on the basis of relevant court decisions, and other documents. The employees of the Ministry of Finance have organized the audit of tax compliance, the report said.

Commenting on this statement, the Director of the Media Rights Institute, Rashid Hajili, said that the inspections at FTU because of the arrest of NIDA members is unfounded. He questioned the legality of the court order to check if it happens. The court had to call representatives of  FTU and listen to their arguments. FTU also had to have chance to appeal. On the other hand, the law does not prohibit the activities of NGOs, if it is not registered, the lawyer noted.

The head of OL, Adnan Hajizade, explained that currently the founders of the Movement are he, Ruslan Asad and Vugar Salamly. Other founders went to NIDA and does not have relation to OL.

OL will present its position in details regarding the accusations in a statement, he said.

The authorities have arrested eight members of NIDA, accusing them of organizing  disturbances.—06D-