Activist Bakhtiyar Gadjiev detained in Azerbaijan

The detention of activist Bakhtiyar Gadjiev might be related to his critical posts on social media against the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Azerbaijan, the “Line of Defence” NGO suggested.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Bakhtiyar Gadjiev, the head of the “Positive Changes” NGO, stated that on April 21, he was kidnapped by four men in masks. According to the Bakhtiyar Gadjiev’s story, the kidnappers subjected him to humiliating treatment and demanded from him to remove his critical posts about the Interior Minister and a pro-government activist. The kidnappers threatened with reprisal if Bakhtiyar Gadjiev continued to criticize the Interior Minister. The head of the “Positive Changes” NGO then obtained an appointment with Deputy Interior Minister Ismet Aliev. However, at the meeting, he came to the conclusion that law enforcers “had no intention of unbiasedly investigating the case.” The authorities of Azerbaijan should stop the unjustified persecution of activists, the opposition “National Council of Democratic Forces” (NCDF) stated, calling for punishment for those responsible for the kidnapping of Bakhtiyar Gadjiev.

Bakhtiyar Gadjiev was detained today, Zaur Akper, the co-founder of the “Line of Defence” human rights organization, reported. He believes that the detention of Bakhtiyar Gadjiev is related to his posts on social media, in particular, with his criticism of the leaders of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In April 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) obliged the authorities of Azerbaijan to pay compensation to Bakhtiyar Gadjiev in the amount of 12,850 euros.