Head of Interior Ministry received human rights defenders and made promises

Baku/14.12.21/Turan: Co-founders of the human rights protection organization "Defense Line" Rufat Safarov, Zafar Ahmedov, Zaur Akper, Alaif Hasanov met yesterday with Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov.

The three-hour meeting was attended by Deputy Minister Ismet Aliyev, Deputy Chief of Operations Department of the main police department of Baku Vugar Alakbarov and a chief of the press service of the Interior Ministry, Ehsan Zahidov.

Today the co-founders of the "Defense Line" told journalists that they discussed issues of relations between the police and citizens, monitoring of police stations' detention centers, organization of human rights protection work.

Separately, the issue of PPFA activist Shahin Hajiyev who was arrested on charges of drug trafficking in Ganja, was discussed.

There was also exchange of views on the case of Saleh Rustamov who has been on hunger strike for 39 days.

According to Rufat Safarov, executive director of the "Defence Line", the Minister assured that the issue of monitoring of detention facilities "will be gradually resolved".

The facts of violation of the arrested Hajiyev's rights were brought to the Minister's attention with the police unreasonably calling him a drug baron.  Hajiyev was later offered a "guilty plea" promising to send him for treatment. The Minister said that he had instructed to take the case under control.

During the meeting, the issue of gross violations when investigating the Terter case  following which dozens of military and civilians were wrongly accused of treason, was also raised. -0306В-