Azerbaijani NIDA activist detained for disobeying police

A member of the Azerbaijani pro-democracy group, NIDA, has been imprisoned for 30 days on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police in Baku. 

Mete Turksoy was arrested on 30 October at the Ganjlik Metro Station in Baku following a dispute with police officers who asked to search his bag.

He was charged with petty hooliganism and disobeying the police and was sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention the following day.

Araz Aliyev, a member of NIDA, told OC Media that Turksoy resided in Shaki, northwestern Azerbaijan, and that he was visiting his relatives in Baku.

‘He stayed in Baku at his relative’s house and for this time he stayed here a little bit more. It is a banal story and he was arrested for nothing’, said Aliyev.

Aliyev said that Turksoy was detained while on his way to the Ganjlik Metro Station with his friend. He said that his friend tried to convince him to let the police scan his bag with the x-ray machine.

He said that a police officer overheard their conversation, and accused them of ‘not respecting’ their work. After that, he said Turksoy apologised to the police officer, but the police accused him of disobeying them.

‘They took Mete to the Nizami police station in the metro but as they discussed his background, their behaviour towards him changed’, he said. ‘The police didn’t allow him to contact his family members, even his lawyer. And the day after he was sent to trial’.

Aliyev believes that Turksoy was detained because of his political activity and criticism of the government. 

‘He criticised the government on his social media accounts and that is why we urged him [not to criticise the government] or he may face some pressure. And we expect that he also will be punished with a travel ban or will be stopped when he decides to leave the country’.

NIDA published a statement saying that they believed that Turksoy’s detention ‘started with non-political reasons, then took on a political colouring’.

‘Because of an ordinary incident, he was kept in police custody for 24 hours and then given the maximum possible punishment for the imputed offences. The real reason for his arrest is Mete’s public and political activity, critical posts on social networks.’

Aliyev told OC Media that he fears that Azerbaijan’s repression of civil society actors and organisations will increase following the UN COP29 climate conference, taking place in Baku between 11–22 November.

Turksoy was previously detained on administrative charges for 25 days in 2019 after taking part in a protest calling for the release of blogger Mehman Huseynov in Baku. 

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