Azeri opposition activist arrested for 15 days

Gachai Gafarov, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), has been arrested for 15 days on charges of disobeying the police. Gafarov's father and PFPA activists have linked the arrest with the young man's criticism of the police in social networks.

Gachai Gafarov, who lives in the village of Yalman in the Goychay District, was detained on July 4, when shepherding sheep in the village, his father, Alyshan Gafarov, has informed.

"There was no information about him for a whole day. On July 5, the district police division confirmed that Gachai had been detained. On Monday (July 6), the court sentenced him to 15 days of arrest under Article 535.1 (disobedience to the police) of the Azerbaijani Administrative Code," Alyshan Gafarov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The father believes his son was arrested for criticizing police on the Facebook. A July 2 post by Gachai Gafarov, dated to the Police Day, states that "in the true sense, there are no law defenders the country." He stated, in particular, about activists' arrests on trumped-up charges.

The PFPA also believes that Gafarov is being persecuted for his activeness in social networks.

"Gachai is the third member of our party to be arrested administratively in the last 10 days. These arrests are acts of intimidation, a demonstration of the fact that the police control social networks and can quickly establish any criticism of the authorities," Ilkham Gusein, a member of the PFPA Presidium, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 7, 2020 at 08:31 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.