Human Rights Activists Call for Public Condemnation of Police

Baku / 10.06.20 / Turan: The Union for Freedom of Political Prisoners condemned police violence during the detention of citizens in the Yeni Yasamal housing estate on June 8, comparing the special police operation with the Nazi eviction of Jews from their apartments in Nazi Germany.

In a statement, the Union condemned the police invasion of homes, beating and pulling citizens out of their apartments as dangerous terrorists.

Moreover, 11 detainees were brutally beaten at the police station. “Azerbaijani police, like the Nazis beat and tortured the citizens of the republic,” the statement said.

Despite this, there will be no punishment for “criminals in uniform.” “Torture and murder under torture in Azerbaijan is a traditional practice. And the entire state system stands on this violence,” the statement said. The union proposes a public reprimand for the police.

“We propose to establish their names, surnames, ranks and photos and publish them. The society should know the names of the criminals, they should not be greeted, and they should not be shaken hands with. Their data must be disseminated everywhere!” said the statement signed by the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy (IPD) Leyla Yunus and the head of the Center for Monitoring Political Prisoners Elshan Hasanov.

* These two public organizations created the Alliance for the Freedom of Political Prisoners in 2018.   —06D-