The MInistry of INternal Affairs dissatisfied with the statement of the British Embassy

Baku/17.05.22/Turan: The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan is dissatisfied with the position of the British Embassy in Baku, which called the police action during the Saturday protest action of public activists in the center of Baku a violation of the right to freedom of protest.

“As already reported, on May 14, 2022, a group of people held an uncoordinated rally at Fountain Square in the Sabail district, which was held in violation of the Law on Freedom of Assembly. Wherein. the safety of the participants was ensured, a statement was made at the end of the rally, no incidents were recorded during the rally and no one was detained.

However, on the same day, the British Embassy in Azerbaijan provided false information about the serious interference of the police in the protest and the presence of a large number of detainees, which is an unacceptable and unreasonable interference in the internal affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

 It is not clear that the British Embassy in Azerbaijan underestimated the action and made accusatory statements, while the organizers and participants of the action held a normal rally and assessed the behavior of the police as satisfactory. We regard this statement as an attempt to damage the reputation of the police in the performance of their duties.

We call on the British Embassy in Azerbaijan to refute this statement and admit their mistake,” the Interior Ministry said in a May 17 statement.

The British Embassy in Azerbaijan questioned the observance of the right to peaceful protest in Azerbaijan, in connection with the violence against the peaceful protesters in Baku on May 14 and the pressure exerted on journalists and public activists.

“The right to peaceful protest and independent media are pillars of a free society. The protection of these rights has been called into question by recent incidents such as the disruption of a peaceful protest on May 14 and violence against bloggers and journalists, as in the case of Bakhtiyar Hajiyev and Ayten Mammadova. All allegations of violence must be thoroughly investigated,” the message posted on the embassy's Facebook page said.

 It should be noted that the detentions took place before the start of the action, and its organizers received threats from the presidential administration. During the action itself, the police dispersed and prevented the participants from holding their event. All this was recorded by numerous videos of dozens of journalists. -16D-