Azerbaijani oppositionist arrested after returning home

Azad Gasanov, an activist of the "Musavat" Party, was arrested on October 12, the following day after his return to Azerbaijan from Lithuania, where he was in political emigration. The reason for his arrest remains unknown to his advocate and relatives.

Today, the advocate Osman Kyazimov reported that on October 12, Gasanov was arrested by the decision of the Khatai District Court of Baku. The arrest was reported to the advocate at the Khatai ROVD (District Interior Division) without specifying charges against Gasanov.

Tarana Gasanova, Azad's wife, who is in Lithuania, said that on October 10, Azad was called from Baku and told that his father was at the point of death.

"Azad urgently flew to Baku. At the airport, he easily passed the border control. Until the noon, he was with his father. In the afternoon, he went to the mosque to perform his namaz (prayer) and was detained in the street by people in civilian clothes, who forced him into a car. His brother tried to prevent the detention, but those people said they were police employees," Ms Gasanova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by telephone.

"If law enforcers have really detained Gasanov, they violated the law. They were supposed to introduce themselves, state the reason for the detention, and allow him call his relatives and invite an advocate by his choice. However, during the day there was no information about Gasanov's fate," said the advocate Osman Kyazimov.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 13, 2018 at 01:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.