Brother of convicted journalist Polad Aslanov arrested

Baku/28.08.21/Turan: Niyameddin Aslanzade, the brother of the editor of the website xeberman.com, Polad Aslanov, who is serving a prison sentence, was arrested in administrative order, reported Gulmira Alanova,  the wife of Polad Aslanov.

According to her, Niyameddin Aslanzade was summoned to the police station a few days ago.

“My brother-in-law was told that there is a complaint against him from the Ombudsman's office. Several months ago, when my husband was on a hunger strike, Niyameddin called the Ombudsman's office and expressed his indignation that his brother was not taken care. Niyameddin suffers from a nervous illness and from the injustice towards his brother expressed his protest in an emotional way.

Then he apologized. We also apologized on his behalf,” Gulmira Aslanova said.

According to her, although her brother-in-law was initially released, he disappeared on August 26.

“We could not establish his whereabouts; we called the service 102 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. His mother was told yesterday evening that Niyameddin was sentenced to 15 days in jail. Today, in the 18th department of the Narimanov District Police Department, I was informed that he was arrested for five days, but I was not told the specific reasons and under what article Niyameddin was punished. I could not get the text of the court decision because the district court was closed,” Gulmira Aslanova said.

She stated that her brother-in-law's rights had been violated, since after his arrest he was not allowed to call his home and invite a lawyer of his choice.

Aslanov was sentenced on November 16, 2019 to 16 years in prison on charges of treason in favor of Iran. He denied the accusation, claiming that he was punished for publishing materials about corruption in law enforcement agencies.

Reporters Without Borders and other human rights organizations called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release Polad Aslanov. -06B-