08:16, 12 July 2018

Suspect of killing policeman in Ganja detained

Farrukh Gasymov. Photo © FB / ferrux.qasimov.7 https://ru.sputnik.az/incidents/20180711/416165400/ganja-ubiystvo-policiya-zaderjaniye.html

The police have detained Farrukh Gasymov within the murder case of two policemen during the riots in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 10, 150-200 people gathered near the administration building in Ganja in connection with the attempt on Elmar Veliev, the head of the city executive power. The police stopped the rally; and in the skirmishes with the protesters, two policemen were killed. On suspicion of committing the murders, Rashad Beyukkishiev and Farrukh Gasymov were declared wanted.

On July 3, the head of Ganja, Elmar Veliev, was wounded in an armed attack. The shooter, the 35-year-old Yunis Safarov, was detained. Law enforcers treat the attack as a terror act.

The search for other suspects of killing the policemen is underway, the APA reports.

Gasymov was one of the most active participants of the July 10 action, the TASS reports quoting the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

The experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe that the policemen's murder in Ganja, which is one of the centres of Shiism, was a result of the tensions in the city. The experts have noted that the popularity of religious radical groups, which raise social problems, is growing amidst the authorities' struggle against the secular opposition.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 11, 2018 at 07:55 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.