"We are deeply concerned about violence, including allegations of assault, and other pressure against citizens who exercise their constitutional rights in Azerbaijan," a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday in response to TURAN's request for comment on the recent assault against a leading Azerbaijani activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev.
"We urge authorities to investigate all such incidents, including those recently reported by Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, and hold those responsible accountable," a spokesperson added.
The United States "remains strongly committed" to advancing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. "And we, again, urge the government to respect their citizens’ rights, including the right to express views peacefully," a State Department spokesperson noted.
Bakhtiyar Hajiyev reported on Monday that the Organized Crime Unit officers snatched him from a street in Baku, held for 6 hours, and freed after deleting his Facebook posts critical of the Interior Minister.
In April 2022, he was also detained, beaten, and interrogated about online posts.
Yesterday, Mr. Hajiyev officially applied for revocation of his Azerbaijani citizenship.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called President of the United States Donald Trump on 25 November.
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Director of the Institute of Political Management, political scientist Azer Gasymly has been summoned to the Main Police Department of Baku at 16:00 today. He wrote about it in facebook.
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Adalyat Verdiyev, the head of the civil defense staff at the public legal entity Center for Public Health and Reform under the Ministry of Health, and a military expert, has been arrested. On November 22, during a media tour to the liberated territories, Verdiyev filmed and published information and images on his social media accounts revealing Azerbaijani Armed Forces' combat positions in the heights, deployment sites, coordinates, and operational conditions of the border troops. This disclosure caused significant damage to the interests of state security and defense capability. This was stated in a report from the General Prosecutor’s Office.
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On Monday, the Baku Appeals Court considered the appeal of Talysh researcher Iqbal Abilov against the extension of his detention for another four months. The defense argued that the decision to extend Abilov's detention was unjustified, lawyer Fariz Namazly told reporters.
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