17 October 2003, 18:19
Champion of law observance declared to be police wanted
Before noon on October 13, Panakh Kerimov, a member of the election committee of the 3rd polling station of electoral district 19 in the Nariman region, took part in counting of ballots and their packing into a safe. However, when he returned at 5 p.m., he saw chief of the election committee Muradov attaching seals to ballots and marking the name of Ilkham Aliyev. When Panakh Kerimov said that Muradov and other election committee members were committing a crime, he was insulted. He took a ballot marked in favor of Aliyev and left the polling station.
On the same day, October 13, Kerimov handed over the ballot to political parties, local and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, as evidence of the crime. On October 14 police hemmed in and blocked Kerimov?s house. The national television announced that Panakh Kerimov was police wanted and criminal proceedings were instituted against him under the Criminal Code clauses of larceny, hooliganism, etc.
Human rights organizations of Azerbaijan are unable to prevent the detention of a law-abiding citizen Kerimov and protect his family from violation and high-handedness of police.
Source: Institute of Peace and Democracy (Azerbaijan)
