Police stop rally against violence on journalists in Baku

Law enforcers have dispersed a protest action against violence on journalists and activists; the action was triggered by the attack on the journalist Aiten Mamedova. At least 28 people were detained at the action.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 9, the Azerbaijani police launched an inquiry into the attack on the journalist, Aiten Mamedova. The incident took place in the Binagadi District of Baku. The man who followed Aiten Mamedova into the elevator in the house put a knife to her throat and demanded from her not to cover the trial, after which he disappeared. Ms Mamedova has linked the attack with her coverage of the high-profile case of the murder of a child, in which Ilkin Suleimanov is accused.

On May 14, a group of activists from the Azerbaijani Democratic Movement held a protest action in Fountain Square in Baku against the growing violence and threats against public figures under the slogan "We don't want a mafia state."

Most of the organizers of the protest were detained by policemen before the action began.

Tofig Yagublu, a member of the "Musavat" Party, read out a protesters' appeal stating that cases of violence against public figures and journalists have recently become more frequent in Azerbaijan; and these crimes remain unpunished.

The activists intended to march from Fountain Square to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) (the distance is less than a kilometre, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") and read the text of the appeal in front of the MIA. However, policemen tightly surrounded the organizers of the action and squeezed them towards the "Sakhil" metro station.

According to Zafar Akhmedov, a co-chairman of the "Defence Line", 28 protesters were brought to the 8th police station alone. Other 13 persons were detained before the action and during the rally. They were taken out of Baku in police cars and released in settlements at a distance of 20-30 kilometres from the capital, Mr Akhmedov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 14, 2022 at 05:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.