Police looks for human rights activist Elchin Mamed

Baku/19.12.23/Turan: Public and human rights activist Elchin Mamed is suspected of "hooliganism" is  charged with beating a man named Fuad Huseynov. This is reported by the Public Association of Legal Education of Sumgayit Youth, which is headed by Elchin Mamed.

On December 18, police officers came to his house several times, demanding to come to the police due to the ongoing investigation.

"The police said that in the summer of this year he exerted physical pressure on a certain Fuad Huseynov and the latter complained. The police reported that the case has been transferred to the investigative department," the report says.

However, at the time the police insists upon, Elchin Mamed was in Georgia for treatment and is still continuing it.

"Therefore, he practically could not beat someone at that time, so the transfer of materials to the investigation means that a criminal case will be opened against him and he can be arrested at any moment.

All this occurs amid the recent arrests of journalists and activists in Azerbaijan.

Former political prisoner Elchin Mamed, being a human rights activist, criticized politically motivated arrests. He is currently working on a report on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan," the statement continued.

The Interior Ministry could not be reached for comment.

*Elchin Mamed was arrested in March 2020 on charges of "theft" and "illegal possession of ammunition." He denied the charges as saying that the case was fabricated due to his human rights work.

It should be remembered that on October 16, 2020, Mamed was sentenced to four years of imprisonment on charges of theft and illegal possession of weapons. He was defended by local human rights activists and international organizations, including Amnesty International, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), and others. In March this year, he was pardoned by the President of Azerbaijan. –06B-