AI: Opposition candidate attack bodes ill for fee elections in Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - A thorough, independent investigation is needed into what appears to have been an orchestrated attack on Azerbaijani opposition presidential candidate Isa Gambar on the campaign trail, Amnesty International said.

“The apparently organized nature of the ambush on Isa Gambar’s convoy and the failure of the police to intervene is clearly very worrying and needs to be investigated,” said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe and Central Asia.

“The authorities must launch an immediate investigation into the incident. Meanwhile Azerbaijan’s European partners should be demanding an explanation for how a serious assault on the opposition Presidential candidate was allowed to take place.”

“Despite recently releasing a number of prisoners of conscience, the Azerbaijani government continues to arrest opposition activists for peacefully expressing dissent,” said Dalhuisen.

“Coupled with the attack on the opposition candidate, this does not bode well for a fair and free presidential election in which the fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and expression are respected.”

According to Gambar’s Musavat Party, Gambar was on his way to campaign in the southern coastal city of Lenkoran on Sunday, January 13 when 10 vehicles attempted to block his convoy at the city’s entrance.

A crowd of more than 100 people pelted the candidate’s convoy with rocks and eggs taken from nearby trucks, smashing the car windows. Police officers who were nearby did not intervene.