BAKU, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan’s police arrested the
deputy head of the biggest opposition party on Tuesday over a
protest last month where thousands demanded the resignation of a
provincial leader.
Tofik Iagublu, deputy head of the Musavat Party, was
arrested along with Ilgar Mamedov, leader of the rights group
Republican Alternative (ReAl), on charges of organising and
taking part in the unrest in the northern town of Ismailli, the
Prosecutor General’s office said.
Azerbaijan serves as a transit route for U.S. troops based
in Afghanistan and for energy supplies to Europe. Critics of
President Ilham Aliyev say that limits the West’s eagerness to
scrutinise Baku over human rights and democracy issues.
Allies of the two men said their arrests were politically
motivated since neither of them had been in Ismailli during the
riots on Jan. 24 and they only visited the town, about 200 km
(125 miles) northwest of the capital Baku, the next day.
“These events were not organised. It was just an expression
of people’s discontent. That’s why these arrests are absolutely
illegal,” Arif Gajily of the Musavat Party said on Tuesday.
Mass protests are usually quashed quickly by police in
Azerbaijan, a nation of 9 million people located between Iran
and Russia. Police used teargas and a water cannon to disperse
the Ismailli crowd.
Twelve others have already been arrested on the same charges
after the Ismailli protest, a reflection of frustration at what
some Azeris see as an overbearing government, corruption and a
big divide between rich and poor.
The unrest began late on Jan. 23. as a brawl involving a
local hotel owner, but rapidly spiralled into a riot involving
up to 3,000 people. Two motorcycles and a car were set on fire
outside the home of the provincial governor’s son.
(Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Gabriela Baczynska
and Oliver Holmes)
