Azerbaijani opposition party activist arrested for 25 days

Activist of the Azerbaijani opposition Musavat Party Elvin Abdullayev was sentenced to 25 days of administrative arrest for “insubordination to the lawful demands of the police”.

His arrest comes just days after he participated in the opposition rally on 19 January in support of imprisoned Azerbaijani blogger Mehman Huseynov.

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Turan media outlet writes that he was detained on the evening of 22 January and sentenced on 23 January.

“I don’t understand why Elvin was detained. They say that he ‘spread propaganda’ in connection with the rally on 19 January. But the rally was sanctioned by the leadership of Baku, and there was nothing illegal there,” said Abdullayev’s mother.

Last May, Elvin Abdullayev was sentenced to 30 days in prison on a similar charge.

The rally on January 19 was held by the opposition coalition in support of political prisoners.