28/01/2013 17:17
Police arrest over 40 activists in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani police have arrested over 40 activists who staged a protest in the capital city of Baku against the government of President Ilham Aliyev., Al Jazeera magazin reports.
More than a hundred protesters gathered in Baku, chanting “Freedom!” and demanding the resignation of Ilham Aliyev.
The protest was triggered by another protest action in Ismail where the police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters demanding the regional governor’s resignation.
“Our cup is filled. People are unhappy because of this regime. We demand change of power,” said Malahat Nasibova, a human rights activist.
Let us remind you that the unrest in Ismail began after a car accident on January 23: a Nissan owned a nephew by the regional governor Nizami Alekperov, in which Vugat Alekperov, the son of an Azerbaijani minister, also traveled, had collided with a car. Alekperov got out of the car and started hurling insults at the people in the other car.
Upon learning of Alekperov’s behavior, local residents were enraged. They went to the buildings owned by the Alekperov family and started to destroy them. According to witnesses, shots were fired during the unrest.
The crowd burst into the detached house of Ismail governor Nizami Alekperov, set fire to the cars parked in the area, as well as to his hotel.