Azerbaijani activists demand from Putin to punish policeman

In their open letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, more than 50 Azerbaijani politicians, human rights defenders and journalists have criticized the release from custody of traffic police inspector, Alexander Gusev, who shot dead the 19-year-old Azerbaijani Vekil Abdullaev near Novosibirsk while trying to detain him.

The tragic incident occurred on May 28 on the "Siberia" Highway in the Moshkovo District of the Novosibirsk Region. Policemen noticed a car with tinted front windows and tried to stop it, but the driver, according to the official version, failed to obey and increased the speed. Inspectors of road-and-patrol service (known as DPS) began pursuing the car; soon it turned to a roadside hotel and stopped; three people got out of it, Vekil Abdullaev was among them.

A scuffle broke out of the men with policemen; during a detention attempt, the patrolman, Alexander Gusev, accidentally shot Vekil Abdullaev in the head; and two days later the young man died at hospital, the "Gazeta.ru" has reported today.

The police inspector, who had accidentally shot the offender, has been released from custody; it was a personal instruction of Alexander Bastrykin, the chairman of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

Azerbaijani MPs, journalists and human rights defenders have addressed their open letter to Vladimir Putin, the "Dozhd" (Rain) TV Channel reported on June 7 on its website.

"We regard the release from custody of the policeman, who had exceeded his powers, not only as concealment and approval of the crime, but also as an encouragement for those who suffer from xenophobia," the letter of the Azerbaijani activists was quoted by the "Trend" News Agency. It was signed by more than 50 people.

The actions of the police inspector were unlawful, the authors of the letter assert. Vekil Abdullaev was not armed, and the pistol was directed "against an absolutely defenceless young man," they have stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 8, 2021 at 07:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.