June 5, 2018
Azerbaijani lawyer Emin Aslan, who prepared for Azerbaijani citizens a number of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), was detained in Baku and taken away to some unknown destination, the “Caucasian Knot” was informed by Anar Mamedli, the head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre (EMDS). According to him, several days ago, Emin Aslan returned from the United States, where he studied at the Syracuse University College of Law.
At about 5:30 p.m. on June 4, Emin Aslan was detained in the centre of Baku in front of a shopping and entertainment centre in Primorsky Boulevard. Till present, his relatives or colleagues are still not aware of his whereabouts, Anar Mamedli reports.
“Three persons in civilian clothes approached Emin. At first, they greeted him. They asked if he was Emin. Then they asked him to step aside, and after that forced him inside a Mercedes car with 90 XG 017 state registration plates and took him away to some unknown destination. Meanwhile, the people in civilian clothes did not introduce themselves,” Anar Mamedli said.
The activist noted that before studying in the US, Emin Aslan was engaged in human rights activities.
“Emin prepared for Azerbaijani citizens a number of complaints to the European Court of Human Rights. In general, he showed his civic activity and criticized the authorities,” Anar Mamedli said.
http://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/43365/
Statement on the disappearance of Emin Aslan in Baku.
https://feedyeti.com/hashtag.php?q=arzu
http://www.bbc.com/azeri/azerbaijan-44371441?ocid=socialflow_twitter (AZERBAIJANI)
http://historia-ime.com/2018/06/05/azerbajxhan-aktivisti-emin-aslan-merret-peng-nga-autoritetet/ (ALBANIAN)
#EminAslan
#FreeEminAslan
Arzu Geybullayeva Visiting Fellow, George Washington University (from Facebook), reports:
Emin Aslan, holds a bachelor degree from the Baku State University Law Faculty. After graduating in 2008, Emin worked in Azerbaijan with a number of local non-governmental organizations as a lawyer. In 2017, Emin successfully secured a scholarship to Syracuse University where he pursued his LLM degree. He received his masters in 2018. Outside of his work as a lawyer, Emin is known for his writing and translation works. Emin returned back to Azerbaijan on May 30. On June 4, at around 5.30pm local time, he was approached by plainclothes men while out with his girlfriend. The men first confirmed Emin’s identity and then, asked him to step aside. He was asked to proceed with them to the police station. Emin did not object. His fiancé was left near Park Bulvar, which is a mall on the Baku waterfront. He was put in a car, that is now known to belong to a man named Mehman Teymurov. Teymurov was an employee at the Department to combat drugs and was later mentioned as an employee of the Department to combat organized crime at the Ministry of the Interior. If you know a little bit on Azerbaijan, then you would also know that this place is notorious for torturing its captives. There are no grounds for Emin’s arrest. Although he was previously accused of tax evasion at the time of his work with some of the NGOs in Azerbaijan, he has paid all his dues and has no history of criminal record. He has been missing since the moment he has been put in that car. Emin’s lawyer, as well as his friends and former colleagues, have searched for him across multiple police stations unable to locate him. At this point, the conclusion is that he has been kidnapped and is held illegally. [Updated June 5, 2018] There is now confirmed that Emin is being held at BandOtdel- Department to Combat Organized Crime. His Facebook account has been activated.
IAPL Monitoring Committee on Attacks on Lawyers 