Sources: haqqin.az, turan.az
The Azerbaijani police arrested Raja and Vekil Imanov, brothers of Meydan TV contributor and editor Gunel Mevlut on October 13.
Vekil Imanov was arrested in Bilasuvar, and Raja Imanov was detained in Sumgait.
Haqqin.az
reported that the brothers are accused of drug possession. However, the police investigator, who is considering the case, refused to disclose any details.
According to Vazir Imanov, the father of Raja and Vekil, his son Vekil was driving home from work with colleagues on Tuesday evening. According to him, they were stopped by the police on their way.
“They asked who of them was Vakil Imanov. After my son introduced himself, he was taken to the police station in Bilasuvar. As soon as I was informed about his detention, I went there,” Vazir said adding that he was not allowed to see his son. He was not informed about the reason for his son’s detention.
Vazir Imanov said that his second son, Raja Imanov, was detained in Sumgait for reasons unknown.
Gunel Mevlut said the following about her brothers: “They are far from politics. Their way of life is such that the reasons for the arrest was not,” Mevlut siad.
According to
Turan News Agency
, Mevlut’s brothers are handymen. They may face several years in prison for possession and distribution of drugs.
It is not the first time that Meydan TV employees and their relatives have been harassed. Since September 16, the police detained freelance journalist Aytaj Akhmedova and her intern. Journalist Shirin Abbasov was detained and the following day was sentenced to 30 days administrative detention for disobeying the police. On September 18, the brother of Meydan TV’s freelance journalist Ahmed Mukhtar was arrested and interrogated. The next day, three Meydan TV journalists, Aytan Farhadtova, Sevinj Vagifgyzy and Isolde Agayev, were detained on arrival at Baku airport and taken into police custody. Distribution of drugs remains one of the most common charges against relatives of human rights activists. Meydan TV Director Emin Milli’s brother-in-law was arrested for drug possession earlier tin July and faces up to 12 years in jail.
