Court of Appeal leaves PFPA activist in custody

Baku/30.08.19/Turan: On Friday, the Baku Court of Appeal chaired by Vagif Mursagulov examined the complaint of the Popular Front Party activist Sahladar Iskenderli, about the arrest.

He was arrested on August 20 after having carried out a solitary rally in the center of Baku. The activist raised posters with slogans about the resignation of the President of Azerbaijan and the release of political prisoners. Video about the action was distributed on social networks on the Internet. He was detained and sentenced to 2 months of administrative arrest.

Activist"s lawyer Asabali Mustafayev said that the Surakhani district court found the activist guilty under the Article 206 (illegal use, manufacture, possession of drugs for personal use) and 535.1 (non-compliance with the lawful requirements of the police) of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

"In the court decision it was written that Iskenderli was detained in the territory of the Surakhani region and drugs were discovered with him. However, in reality he was detained and taken away from his work place near the Puppet Theater. Iskenderli, an hour before the arrest, said on facebook that police officers had come to his home and were looking for him.

Will the person wanted by the police carry drugs?" the lawyer said.

Iskenderli himself said that he was being persecuted for political reasons, for holding an action. After deliberating, the court upheld the arrest of the activist. - 16D06--