Azerbaijani police arrest opposition leader, activists
Baku, Nov 12 (AFP/APP): Police in Azerbaijan arrested nearly a dozen opposition activists on Tuesday ahead of a planned protest against rights violations in the tightly controlled Caspian nation, opposition politicians said.
“The chairman of the (opposition) Musavat party, Arif Gadjily, and the party’s 10 activists were arrested on Tuesday morning,” party spokesman Gyulaga Aslanly told AFP.
“The party office has been surrounded by police since this morning,” he said, calling it a move to prevent the protest set for later in the day.
The Musavat party had announced plans to hold the rally on Tuesday to protest curbs on freedom of assembly under authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev’s rule.
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Aliyev has ruled the oil-rich ex-Soviet republic with an iron fist since he was first elected in 2003, after the death of his father, Azerbaijan’s Soviet-era communist leader and former KGB general Heydar Aliyev.
Under the Aliyev dynasty, Baku has faced strong international criticism for persecuting political opponents and silencing opposition media.