Azerbaijani activist claims to have been beaten by police

Djalil Zabidov, an activist of the “Democracy-1918” movement, was detained, and the police used physical methods of influence, demanding from him to stop criticism of the authorities, the activist said. The police announced that Djalil Zabidov tried to disrupt an exam.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on April 21, Bakhtiyar Gadjiev said that he was kidnapped by men in masks, taken to a suburb of Baku, and subjected to humiliating treatment. The kidnappers demanded to remove critical publications about the chief of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs and the pro-government activist and threatened with reprisals.

Djalil Zabidov, a resident of the village of Dyallyakli in the Yardimly District, was detained on May 1. “I brought my child to a final exam in Yardimly. Some time later, I was detained by the police. Policemen began to beat me and demanded from me to delete a critical post on Facebook* about Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov written in connection with the kidnapping of activist Bakhtiyar Gadjiev,” Djalil Zabidov said. According to the activist, he was insulted and beaten.

This is not the first time when Djalil Zabidov has faced persecution, Tezekhan Miralamli, a member of the NGO “Line of Defence”, has noted. “Djalil Zabidov cannot stand injustice, and he often criticizes top-ranking officials. He has been arrested more than once, but he continues to fight,” Tezekhan Miralamli said.

According to the human rights defender, the activist can file a complaint about the police. “But this is unlikely to be effective. There is a sad experience of the severe beating after the detention of politician Tofig Yagublu, when the prosecutor’s office did not find evidence of violence by law enforcers,” the activist said.