Azerbaijan police detain man after independent media interview

Famil Baghirov

An Azerbaijani man has been detained by police in Baku after complaining to an independent media outlet about an unresolved road accident involving a border guard.

Famil Baghirov was taken from his home in the capital's Yasamal district on 14 July, one day after his video interview was published by the Berlin-based independent broadcaster Meydan TV.

His family said four plainclothes officers took Mr Baghirov to an undisclosed location, leaving them without news for several hours before he was permitted to make a brief phone call.

They allege that police officers from the 28th Police Station in Yasamal are demanding that the video interview be deleted from the internet.

"They took Famil at around 17:30," his family told Meydan TV. "We had no news all day. Then he called and asked for cigarettes. I went to see him today, but we cannot afford a lawyer. I do not know what will happen."

In the video published on 13 July, Mr Baghirov had appealed for justice over an incident in May 2016 involving his father, Zahidagha Baghirov.

He said his father was walking along the roadside when he was struck by an armoured vehicle driven by Samir Nadirov, an officer with the State Border Service (SBS).

According to Mr Baghirov, local authorities subsequently exempted the border officer from criminal liability. He accused the local prosecutor in the southern Astara district, Zakir Saatov, and police investigator Behruz Gulamov of covering up the incident.

Azerbaijan's Ministry of Internal Affairs has not yet commented on Mr Baghirov’s detention.