01 September 2005, 17:18
Abuse of power in Azerbaijan
An attack on members of the youth organisations of the People's Front of Azerbaijan party and Yeni Fikir was carried out in the centre of Baku earlier today. The reason for the attack was that the young men were distributing leaflets with an appeal to the population to make a choice between democracy and dictatorship. As a result, the police cruelly beat one member of Yeni Fikir. Vugar Guseinov, deputy chairman of the youth organisation of the People's Front of Azerbaijan party, was detained and delivered to a police station.
A court has today sentenced him to an administrative punishment in the form of 10 days in prison. Mr Guseinov was found guilty of resistance to the police.
It should be noted that distributing political leaflets is not considered a breach of public order, according to the effective legislation of Azerbaijan.
Author: Zaur Rasulzade, CK correspondent
