Police Use Force Against Women Protesting in Baku and Journalists Covering the Event

A group of women gathered on February 19 in front of the U.S. Embassy in Baku to hold a protest, demanding the release of political prisoners and families of opposition figures. This was reported by the infoteka24 portal.

The protesters called on the Azerbaijani authorities to free all political prisoners and aimed to bring international diplomats' attention to this issue. Participating in the protest were the wives of the founders of opposition websites, Polad Aslanov and Afqane Sadigova.

The participants raised banners calling for the release of political prisoners, displaying their photographs as well. They demanded clemency for political prisoners ahead of the Novruz Bayram holiday.

It was noted that just ten minutes after the rally began, police units interrupted the event, detaining Sevinc Sadigova and Matinath Mahmirzaev, an activist of the Popular Front Party.

“Moreover, the police also used force against the journalists covering the event. Specifically, some officers attempted to seize journalists' cameras, demanded they stop filming, and photographed the journalists along with their credentials. The police reported their actions to their superiors while receiving instructions from them,” mentioned infoteka24.