Azerbaijan civil society demands to release Bialiatski

Representatives of 23 Azerbaijani civil society groups have addressed Belarusian President Lukashenka with an open letter demanding to get the criminal case of Ales Bialiatski under his personal control and take every measure possible to promptly release the prominent Belarusian human rights defender.

“We are appalled by the fact that the arrest of Ales Bialiatski and the subsequent search at his residence were carried out by plain clothes persons in violation of legal procedures. Neither he nor his family members were allowed to make a phone call or contact a lawyer. Bearing in mind the previous facts of harassment of Mr. Bialiatski, we are concerned over the political reasons for the arrest”, says the letter.