Feminist activist Vafa Naghiyeva has said her 74-year-old father has been attacked. Naghiyeva said she believed that Ayyar Azizov wanted to take revenge for his 2020 arrest for sexually assaulting a 17-year-girl, an incident that Naghiyeva had publicised.
Naghiyeva stated that Azizov had attacked her father, Jamaladdin Naghiyev, while he was eating his lunch on Sunday.
‘When Azizov attacked him he was eating, and he hit him on the head, scratched his face, and insulted me. He beat my father because of me.’
She added that according to her father, Azizov had used insulting language when referring to Naghiyeva.
‘When I spoke to my father he told me that Azizov insulted me with such words that he felt his heart was burning’, Naghiyeva said.
She further noted that ‘not one of the gathered people in the cafe said anything to defend me, they only tried to calm Azizov down, telling my father I had publicised the incident in 2020 [that reportedly led to his arrest]. It is another side of the scene that these people speak about honour but are afraid to defend their values in front of the person who has power’.
Naghiyeva said that her father was in pain since the attack, adding that ‘he has a severe headache, he can’t breathe, and his condition has worsened’. She added that she has demanded authorities to punish the assailant.
Naghiyeva told OC Media that she believed Azizov was first arrested after she wrote publicly about how he had kidnapped an underaged girl in 2020.
‘At that time, I was in the village and an underage girl’s grandmother contacted me and said that Azizov, who is married, had, in August 2020, kidnapped her 17-year-old granddaughter and took her far from the village and photographed her nude and later sent the pictures to other villagers, thereby disrespecting the girl’, Naghiyeva said.
‘Later, I spoke with the girl and she told me that Azizov threatened her with a gun and fired at her on the night when she was kidnapped. I publicly wrote about that and Azizov was arrested’, she said.
Naghiyeva added that she still remembered her conversations with an elderly woman who expressed concern that the police would not arrest Azizov, who was an influential figure in the village.
The incident was covered by the pro-government media outlet APA, which reported that at that time, Azizov was 30 years old.
The Interior Ministry then opened a criminal investigation, but denied it was connected to Naghiyeva’s post.
Azizov was subsequently charged with coercion to commit sexual acts and the illegal transfer of personal information, convicted and sentenced to three years prison.
Naghiyeva told OC Media that Azizov's offensive words about her during his attack demonstrated the impunity perpetrators of violence often felt in the country.
‘I demand that the relevant authorities immediately investigate this incident, hold Azizov accountable, and ensure the safety of my family. Because I'm worried for my family, and my father and mother live alone in the village’, she said.
Naghiyeva told OC Media that after she shared the news and complained about the incident, two police officers came to their house and spoke with her father, promising to take measures over the incident.
Aytan Farhadova
