Bairamly treats her arrest as revenge by Azerbaijani authorities

Gezyal Bairamly, Deputy Chair of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), accused of contraband, told today at the court, how the money was planted on her. She treats her prosecution as a revenge for her political and human rights activities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 25, Gezyal Bairamly was detained when she was returning from Georgia and arrested on the charge of smuggling.

"Ms Bairamly has stated that her arrest was pre-planned and organized by employees [of law enforcement and special services] in coordination with the country's political leadership. She has added that her arrest had been prepared for a long time," Tezakhan Miralamli, a reporter of the "Azadlyg" newspaper, who monitored the trial, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to her story, on the day of her return from Georgia, on May 25, Bairamly was stopped at the passport control point and taken to the boss' office.

"Gezyal Bairamly told that she was led along a narrow, dirty, dark corridor. There, someone took her by the arm saying 'I'll help you,' and at that moment Bairamly felt that the man dropped something into her bag. After that, the escort told her to go back and pass the customs control, and hurriedly took her there. At that moment, she managed to telephone Ali Kerimli, the PFPA leader, and tell him that something had been planted into her bag. A female employee of the customs, who inspected Bairamly's belongings through the watching device, announced that 'there are 12,000 US dollars there.' Bairamly asked how she could know the sum, while the money had not been recounted yet," said the reporter, who was present in the courtroom.

After Bairamly's speech, the judge announced that the next session would be held on January 10.

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