A local prosecutor has dismissed opposition activist Tofig Yagublu’s request for a criminal investigation as it could not substantiate that he was beaten, despite photos showing the activist with severe injuries.

Yagublu, a former deputy chair of the opposition Musavat party, received his injuries after being detained by police at a 1 December demonstration in support of  Saleh Rustamli, an imprisoned opposition figure who was on hunger strike at the time. 

[Read more: Dozens arrested in Baku during protest demanding release of Saleh Rustamli]

Images of Yagublu, with a bruised face and eyes swollen shut, appeared hours after the rally. That same day, Yagublu told journalists that he was taken to the Alat settlement, roughly 70 km from Baku, by police officers dressed in civilian clothing, beaten, and then released. 

On 2 December, he submitted his complaint requesting a criminal investigation to the Sabail district prosecutor’s office in Baku.

After the complaint was dismissed, he wrote on Facebook that it had proven that his beating had been ordered by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and that the police ‘can even kill Tofig Yagublu, because they won’t be punished’.