The arrested due to the events in Gadabey were taken to Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (MDCOC) – human rights activist

Baku/05.07.23/Turan: Those arrested administratively during protests in the village of Seyudlu of the Gadabey region were taken to the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (MDCOC) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan. According to Samad Rahimli, a member of the Civil Society Working Group "Seyudlu", criminal cases have been opened against these persons, or they were brought to Baku illegally. He noted that 11 people were arrested in connection with the events in the village of Soyudlu.

Eight of them were subjected to administrative arrests. In particular, they were charged with committing offenses under Article 513 (violation of the rules for organizing and holding meetings) Code of Administrative Misconduct. Three more arrested persons were charged with criminal involvement in drug trafficking. Appeals were prepared for the arrested, but their relatives refused to sign contracts with the lawyers offered to them.

"Therefore, we were unable to send appeals and the appeal deadlines were thus missed. The villagers and relatives of the arrested refused the legal assistance we offered," Rahimli said.  The Interior Ministry could not be reached for comment.

On June 20, the residents of the village of Seyudlu held a protest action, stating that the environment was polluted by a nearby gold mining enterprise. The police violently dispersed the protest. As a result of the crackdown, 10 people were injured, five were detained and arrested administratively for 20 days. Another resident was fined 1,500 manats. Later, several more people were detained. However, law enforcement agencies do not report the number of detainees. -21B06-