Relatives of several Azerbaijanis who were deported from Germany before being arrested upon their return have held a demonstration in Baku.
On Tuesday, around a dozen people gathered outside the German Embassy. The demonstration was broken up by Azerbaijani police soon after it began.
According to protesters, six asylum seekers were deported from Germany and then arrested over the past year, and their families are demanding they be given a fair and open trial. The protesters also said they wanted the German embassy to pay more attention to the issue.
Protesters said four of the six people deported from Germany and later arrested were charged with fabricated drug offences.
Police officers who arrived at the demonstration removed protesters from the area and confiscated posters and copies of their common statement, however, no one was detained.
Nurana Ashurova, whose husband Samir Ashurov was among those in custody, told reporters that they had not received any response from the German embassy.
‘When we were sent from Germany, they said that Samir would not be persecuted, but he was arrested almost immediately’, she said.
Ashurov is a political activist who was arrested several times after taking part in anti-government protests, before seeking asylum in Germany in 2018.
[Read on OC Media: Activist arrested in Azerbaijan following deportation from Germany]
Vahid Karimli, whose son Punhan Karimli was arrested after being returned to Azerbaijan, also took part in the protest. Punhan Karimli is an activist of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan..
‘Initially, the police said that Punhan was detained on suspicion of carrying an illegal weapon. Then this weapon turned into a drug. Just as my son was arrested on trumped-up charges, his trial is virtually closed’, Karimov said.
