There were several clashes between civilians and heavily armed policemen in the town of Mingachevir, north of the Azerbaijani Capital Baku. The clashes on Saturday (22 August) errupted after the funeral of a local resident who died in police custody the night before.
The Azerbaijani Interior Ministry in a statement said that the dead person, 27 year old Behrouz Hajiyev was being questioned at the Town's police headquarters on suspicioun of drug trafficking when he suddenly threw himself out of the window and was declared dead.
Hajiyev was buried this morning, and after the funeral dozens of people congregated in the centre of the town accusing the police of killing him. A number of scuffles followed.
The Ministry of Interior statement said that 21 people were detained for violating public order. The statement accused "destructive elements" of abusing the incident and assured that measures will be take to ensure "public order and stability".
Video footage on the website of Radio Liberty showed heavily armed policemen breaking up what looked like a peaceful gathering of several dozen protesters. A number of protesters were later also seen with injuries on their faces and bodies.
Mingachevir is the fourth largest town in Azerbaijan, with a population of 150,000.
source: commonspace.eu with Radio Liberty and agencies
Photo: Residents in the town of Mingachevir on 22 August 2015 protested against the death of a 27 year old man in police custody the night before. (picture courtestu of Radio Liberty).
