Opposition associates arrests of activists with appointment of Vice-President of Azerbaijan

Mass arrests aim at reducing social protests in the society against the appointment of Mekhriban Alieva to the post of the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, oppositionists believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has appointed his wife Mekhriban Alieva to the post of the First Vice-President of the country. The opposition treats this step as usurpation of power.

On February 20, Gadir Agakishiev, a member of the Sumgait city organization named D18, was sentenced to 30 days in jail on charge of disobeying police, said Ruslan Izzetli, another D18 member.

Also today, 30 days of arrest on the same charge were awarded to Namig Abbasaliev, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), said Gezyal Bairamly, a Deputy Chairman of the PFPA.

"This is the fourth activist of our party, arrested in the administrative order within the last two days," Ms Bairamly said.

Khadija Ismayilova, a rights defender and journalist, said that arrests of oppositionists are linked to the appointment of Alieva to the post of the First Vice-President.

On February 20, in the Masalli District, located in the south of the country, activists Elvin Bakhramov and Farasat Akhmedov were taken to a police station, Gezyal Bairamly said earlier.

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