In Baku, police disperses picket of oppositional block "Azadlyg"

Today in capital of Azerbaijan, policemen prevented a protest action of the opposition and detained its participants.

The political block "Azadlyg", where the members are the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), the Party of Citizens and Development and the Liberal Party, had planned to hold a rally with the demands of the freedom of assembly, democratic parliamentary elections and report of the government on the situation at the negotiations on Karabakh settlement. However, the notification of the Block with a request to sanction the action in one of the central squares of the city was rejected by the city authorities.

Nevertheless, the "Azadlyg" Block, referring to the direct action of the constitutional norm about the freedom of assembly, made a decision to hold the rally at 3:00 p.m. local time (2:00 p.m. Moscow time) in the square in front of "Narimanov" cinema in the Baku district of the same name.

Gasan Kerimov, head of the Supreme Majlis of the PFPA, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that at about 3:00 p.m. policemen blocked the metro exit to the cinema. Some 30 minutes later, a group of oppositionists tried to pass to the square in front of "Narimanov" cinema. However, they were stopped by policemen. Practically all the participants of the action - about 50-60 persons - were detained and violently put into the buses removed from city routes.

The Baku police motivated the dispersal of the action by the fact that is was not sanctioned by the authorities and reported "several detainees."