Over 50 Azerbaijanis, including minors, detained ahead of rally demanding justice for student’s death

Over 50 people, including minors, have reportedly been arrested in Baku ahead of a planned protest in demand of an investigation into the suspicious death of Elgun Ibrahimov, an 18-year-old student.

Feminist activist Gulnara Mehdiyeva wrote on Facebook that the detentions took place on Sunday, the day of the scheduled demonstration.

She said that the police confiscated their phones and went through their personal messages and contacts list.

A detained protester, speaking on condition of anonymity, told OC Media that it was impossible to join the protest, scheduled to begin at 12:00, because the police detained everyone who was near the 28 May metro station, which is located in the city centre.

‘I asked one of my friends to join me and when we both approached the place, which is in the city centre, we were stopped by police officers who were in civilian clothes. They look like elderly people. We didn't even believe them, but they showed us their IDs’, the demonstrator told OC Media.

The police confiscated posters they intended to use during the protest and escorted them to the Nasimi Police Department.

‘They handcuffed us, kept our heads down, and roughly pushed us into a police car. He took my phone from my back pocket of the trousers and in the car they took our photo’, the protester said.

At the station, police officers reportedly collected information about their place of residence, their families, where they studied or worked, took their fingerprints, and then took them to the department’s meeting room.

‘The chief of the police department said that since this is your first time here, we will treat you calmly, but the second time you will not be able to leave here with a smile. Who are you to demand anything? He said that he could step on us. And he emphasised that if he sees us at a rally again, he will not let us go alive’, the protester said, adding that the police officer insulted her using sexually suggestive language.

After being taken to the meeting room, the protester said that she heard one officer saying there were 63 detainees. Inside the room, she said that she saw children aged 13–14.

She told OC Media that they were held up at the police department for around six hours.

Activist Aykhan Zayedzadeh said that over 50 people, most of whom were underage, were detained in Baku.

Ibrahimov’s death in Ganja

Ibrahimov was found severely injured in an abandoned dormitory in Ganja on 12 May, after which he was taken to the city hospital where he died hours later.

Almost immediately, the case came under police control, with journalists, even from pro-government media outlets, not being allowed to interview Ibrahimov’s family members or his doctors.

Later, on 29 May, the Interior Ministry, General Prosecutor’s Office, and the State Security Service shared a joint statement about Ibrahimov’s death.

They claimed that ‘Elgun Ibrahimov did not receive any bodily injuries from strangers or persons, no violent actions were committed against him, and his fatal illness occurred from multiple injuries received as a result of falling from a height’.

Despite the statement, the story spread throughout social media, with users starting a campaign for justice.

On 26 May, school children in the neighbouring Gazakh district asked social activist Nijat Amirslanov for help to stick posters related to Ibrahimov’s death around the city.

Shortly after, Amiraslanov was detained.

Azerbaijani activist detained after distributing pamphlets about violent death of teenager

Nijat Amiraslanov was accused of minor hooliganism and administratively detained for 15 days.

OC MediaAytan Farhadova

‘Not only the teenagers, school teachers, and directors of the schools, but also the owners of the properties whose walls had posters stuck to them were summoned to the police station for questioning. Some of them paid bribes and two school children from the school N3 were taken ₼2,000 ($1,200) as a bribe. But people are afraid to speak about that’, a Gazakh resident told OC Media.

Residents emphasised that the posters were not distributed by just one school, as the incident caused a great stir among school children.

‘Now the district police have taken control of the schools and preventive talks with them are held periodically’, a Gazakh resident told OC Media.

‘When I saw information about Elgun I thought he was only two years younger than me and I could have been in his place too, someone could have killed me too and our police would close the case and say this person committed suicide, that is why I was there’, stressed the protester to OC Media.

The Interior Ministry has not responded to OC Media’s queries about the reported detentions.

Calls for accountability after violent death of 18-year-old Azerbaijani student

Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General’s Office and Interior Ministry have urged the public ‘not to disseminate unsubstantiated and unverified information’.

OC MediaAytan Farhadova