25 February 2021, 11:56
Oppositionists link Abbasov's arrest with his criticism of Azerbaijan President
Elmir Abbasov, a member of the "Nida" movement, has refused to plead guilty of a drug-related offense. The opposition believes that Abbasov is being persecuted because of his post about the corruption nature of Ilham Aliev's regime.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Elmir Abbasov, an activist and a member of the "Nida" movement, was arrested for 30 days on charges of illegal drug use.
"Abbasov has stated that he is prosecuted for his critical publications on the Facebook; he was detained when he went out to the store to buy bread," Elchin Sadygov, an advocate, has stated.
According to the advocate, after detention, Abbasov's rights were violated – he was deprived of the opportunity to invite an advocate of his choice and contact his relatives. The defence has prepared a complaint against his arrest.
Abbasov was detained on January 12, 2021, because of his post on the Facebook about the head of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, the activist himself believes. "They talked with me for two hours and released me after I deleted the post," he said.
"Elmir is an active 'Nida' member; he was detained more than once for participating in protests and posts in social networks. However, he was arrested for the first time," said Turgut Gambar, a board member of the "Nida" movement.
Emin Guseinov, the director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), has called "Nida" the most active youth organization in Azerbaijan over the past decade.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 25, 2021 at 01:34 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
