On October 14, National Council Coordination Centre members Ogtay Gulaliyev and Eldaniz Guliyev, Azerbaijan Popular Front Party (APFP) Deputy Chairman Gozal Bayramli, APFP Supreme Assembly Chairman Nuraddin Mammadli and Musavat Party Chairman Arif Hajili were interviewed at the Main Organised Crime Department (MOCD).
Speaking about the conversation at MOCD, the APFP Deputy Chairman said she had been required not to defend arrested Muslim Union Movement Chairman Taleh Bagirzade and arrested APFP Deputy Chairman Fuad Gahramanli.
“I was also told at the Department that I allegedly shared posts against the state structure and advocating religious extremism. But I told those at the Department that we were against the current regime, not the state structure. They told me that the Parliament was tightening a number of laws regarding religious extremism, and those changes [in laws] would allow them to prosecute us. In a word, they threatened to arrest us. I told them that our activity is solely within law,” Gozal Bayramli said recounting her experiences at MOCD.
APFP Supreme Assembly Chairman Nuraddin Mammadli, another interviewed opposition representative, said the main focus of the conversation conducted with him at MOCD was his Facebook posts. “They tried to prove that I advocated religious extremism in those posts. I said I am a politician who is against the use of violent methods and illegal ways of struggle in Azerbaijan. I have repeatedly wrote on this topic and emphasised that religious extremism is the biggest threat to the state of Azerbaijan,” Nuraddin Mammadli said.
National Council Coordination Centre member Eldaniz Guliyev was also asked questions related to his Facebook posts during the interview. “The subject of discussion was my socio-political activity, defending religious people, and my social media posts. I was demanded to slow down my activity, and I received a verbal warning for alleged criminal elements in my posts,” Eldaniz Guliyev said.
National Council Coordination Centre member Ogtay Gulaliyev was questioned in connection with his press statements on the operation conducted in Nardaran settlement on 26 November 2015.
“They demanded me to stop my socio-political activity. I assess it as a warning towards me. They also hinted that unless I stopped my socio-political activity, I might face more serious repercussions,” Gulaliyev said.