23:47, 24 January 2005

Political refugee arrested in Azerbaijan

Police have arrested Saday Nazarov, one of the closest supporters of former prime minister Suret Guseinov, reported the Azerbaijan Human Rights Center. Being already an aged man, he returned to Azerbaijan on January 11 after he had lived as an emigrant for 10 years in Czechia, where he had refugee status. The professor took on trust the authorities' statements about national reconciliation and resolution of the problem of political prisoners. Ten days later, upon his departure for Baku on January 20, he was arrested and questioned at once. He was to be conveyed to Baku on January 22, some sources say.

This arrest shows one more time that Azerbaijan has great problems with human rights, human rights activist Eldar Zeinalov said to the Caucasian Knot correspondent. According to Mr Zeinalov, PACE rapporteur on political prisoners in Azerbaijan Georges Clerfayt said in one of his reports: "If the existence of political prisoners is inadmissible for European democracy, there must be the same situation with political refugees."

Author: Zaur Rasulzade, CK correspondent