Ogtay Gulaliyev Warned on "Nardaran Case"

The Coordinator of the Public Alliance "Azerbaijan without political prisoners" Ogtay Gulaliyev was warned at the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (MDCOC) of the Interior Ministry in relation to his active work in defense of "Nardaran case" prisoners.

Gulaliyev was invited to MDCOC at 11 a.m. on October 14 immediately after his report on the "Nardaran case" was released a day earlier.

"Today at the meeting the management expressed dissatisfaction with me in connection with my active protection of those arrested during the police operation in November last year, regarding the members of the movement Muslim Unity and its supporters. I was warned that I should stop such activities. Otherwise they promised to apply certain legal actions," he told Turan, noting that the sides also expressed their dissatisfaction with dissemination of information on torture in MDCOC, which, they noted, is not allowed here.

Gulaliyev circulated a report on how many people were arrested in connection with the "Nardaran case" on October 13. It gave substantive information about the arrests, torture and violations of the rights of those arrested. The report leads to the conclusion that the "Nardaran case" was fabricated and ordered.

Total on the "Nardaran case" more than 200 people were arrested and detained. Some of them were subjected to administrative penalties, against 87 people criminal cases were filed and they were arrested.

The village of Nardaran is known for its residents as opposed to other settlements of Azerbaijan. They have long expressed socio-economic claims to the government, which were colored in religious tones and greatly irritated the regime.

On November 26 in this suburb of Baku there was a major police operation, during which several people were killed or wounded. -0-