Relatives of Russian citizen arrested in Baku report he is tortured

Salekh Rustamov, a citizen of Russia, was arrested in Azerbaijan on charges of illegal drug dealing. His relatives report that he is tortured and asked the Russian Embassy to clear out the situation.

Salekh Rustamov was detained on May 8 in the Shamkir District of Azerbaijan during his visit that he made this year, his brother, Talekh Rustamov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The detainee was convoyed to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where on May 9 the Narimanov District Court of Baku ruled to arrest him for four months. He was charged under an article of a large-scale drug trading (Article 234.4.3 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan).

On May 10, his nephew, Vidadi Rustamli, a citizen of Azerbaijan, was also arrested under the same charge. "Only 10 days later, after we began complaining to various state bodies, an advocate was admitted to Salekh. He told him that he had been tortured and humiliated; they threatened to beat up our nephew Vidadi; and only then, he was forced to make confessions," Talekh Rustamov said.

He believes that his brother and nephew are prosecuted groundlessly. Since Salekh Rustamov is a Russian citizen, his family has appealed to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Russian Embassy in Baku asking to provide Salekh with legal aid.

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