Young political scientist Bahruz Samedov detained

Young political scientist Bahruz Samedov was detained in Baku in the evening of 21 August. His grandmother Zibeida Osmanova told Turan that around 16:00 he left the house to meet a comrade.

‘Half an hour later, five or six people came to our house who introduced themselves as State Security Service officers and said that there was a complaint against Bahruz that he was involved in drugs.

They searched the house and took Bahruz's computer, his passport, two diplomas of graduation from foreign universities, a book in English in which there is an article by Bahruz. They did not find any drugs,’ Osmanova said.

Later, a lawyer named Vafa called her and said that Samedov was suspected of ‘state treason’ and that his correspondence with Armenians had allegedly been discovered.

Osmanova denied these accusations. "Bahruz was engaged in scientific research. He is studying in doctoral studies at Karlov University in the Czech Republic. He arrived a month ago on holiday,’ Osmanova said. He was due to fly back today, she said.

Samedov is known for publishing critical articles and comments on the Azerbaijani authorities in Western media and analytical publications. He is the author of "OC Media and https://bakuresearchinstitute.org/". He is known for his pacifist views.