Azeri youth movement says leader’s arrest authorities’ provocation

MPA news agency
5 Aug 05

Baku, 5 August: The discrediting and arrest of the leader of the Yeni
Fikir [New Thought] youth movement, Ruslan Basirli, is another show
by the authorities, the deputy chairman of the organization, Fikrat
Faramazoglu, told a news conference today. The operation against
Basirli was organized jointly by Armenian intelligence agencies and
the Azerbaijani National Security Ministry and was aimed at disabling
the democratic youth movement, especially, Yeni Fikir, he said.
Faramazoglu ruled out that Basirli, who is struggling for democratic
values in Azerbaijan, could be hired by foreign intelligence services.

A committee to protect the rights of Basirli has been set up. A number
of youth movements are planning to join this committee.

Speaking at the news conference, lawyer Tofiq Quliyev stressed
that there are no elements of crime in Basirli’s case because as
the video [of Basirli’s meeting in Georgia] shows, he did not speak
about overthrowing the current authorities by force. This incident is
politically motivated, Quliyev said. As for money received by Basirli,
Quliyev said that this money had been received not from Armenians,
but from Georgian democrats.

Basirli’s lawyer, Elcin Qambarov, said that he was illegally denied
access to the detainee. A criminal case has been instituted against
Basirli under Article 278 of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code, which
envisages punishment for actions aimed at forcible seizure of power,
forcible keeping of power and forcible change of constitutional order.