"Nida" activist arrested in Azerbaijan

Elgiz Gakhramanov, an activist of the Movement "Nida" (Shout), has been arrested on charges of drug dealing. His companions believe that he was arrested for political reasons.

According to Ulvi Gasanli, a member of the board of the movement, Gakhramanov was detained on August 12.

"Elgiz was detained in the street and taken to the General Department for Combating Organized Crime at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). We thought that there was some misunderstanding; but today, the media close to the authorities of Azerbaijan have published messages that Elgiz 'is an active representative of Fethullah Gülen's network' (a Turkish preacher, who lives in the US and who was accused by the Turkish leadership of organizing the recent coup d’etat attempt, – note of the "Caucasian Knot"). Seeing such messages, we now understand that Elgiz was arrested for political reasons," Ulvi Gasanli told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, adding that he treats "any Gahramanov's links with the Gülen's movement as fiction."

"Yes, Elgiz studied in Turkey, at the Ankara University. But he was more sympathetic with Turkish nationalists, not Gülen's movement. Elgiz returned two years ago and was engaged in tutoring (coaching) activities in Azerbaijan. He has generally nothing to do with the 'People's Front' Party and Ali Kerimli," said Gasanli.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.