By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BAKU, Azerbaijan – Two student activists were arrested and beaten in Azerbaijan after they posted a video critical of the nation’s government.

Authorities arrested Adnan Hajizada, a University of Richmond graduate and fellow activist Emin Milli, in the capital city of Baku last week. A friend of the pair said government officials questioned them while they were out at dinner and struck Milli without warning, and then attacked Hajizada. The two were then arrested and accused of attacking the officials.

Hajizada and Milli are now awaiting trial, where they could be punished with up to five years in prison. They are being held in pretrial detention for the time being, reported The New York Times. Mehriban Efendiyeva, friend of the pair, as well as an activist, said “We note with great regret that in some parts of the world today, severe injustices against the driving force for the progress – the socially active youth – take places in the most brutal manner.”

U.S. Embassy and German officials have voiced concern about the detention and the arrests, which have prompted the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry and Prosecutor General’s office to respond by saying the two countries were “meddling in its affairs.” There are reports circulating that Milli and Hajizada were beaten, and are currently being denied access to lawyers or medical treatment.

A statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan read, “We call on the Government of Azerbaijan to ensure that Mr. Milli and Mr. Hajizada are granted proper access to legal assistance and medical care. We ask that the Government of Azerbaijan exercise due process in this case and respect the rights of these individuals.”

The video posted by the two activists satirized the Azerbaijani government paying exorbitant prices to import donkeys. The video ended with the statement, roughly translated, “There will be someone to protect donkey civil rights, but who will protect human civil rights?”

For more information, please see:

AP – Azerbaijani Blogger Arrests Prompts Backlash – July 14, 2  009 

 

The Collegian – 05′ Richmond Graduate Arrested – July 14, 2009  

The New York Times – In Azerbaijan a Donkey Suit Provokes Arrests – July 14, 2009