Azerbaijani Popular Front Party activist Kenan Zeynalov has been detained on suspicion of stabbing a man. The criminal case against Zeynalov is fabricated, party members said.
Kenan Zeynalov has been out of touch since the evening of March 21, Sagif Gurbanov, the PFPA regional department head, told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent today.
“On the evening of March 21, Kenan Zeynalov went for a walk around the house where he lives. After that, he stopped communicating. Relatives called the “102” hotline of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to clarify his fate, but they were told that they should file a statement at the police station at their place of residence. We immediately assumed that Kenan Zeynalov could have been detained. And today the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the detention of our activist,” Gurbanov said.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Zeynalov was involved in the stabbing of a person. “The police received a report that on March 21 at 20:00 in the village of Yeni Guneshli in the Surakhani district of Baku, 36-year-old Anar Rahimov was hospitalized with stab wounds to the abdominal cavity. During the events, 59-year-old Kenan Zeynalov was detained by police officers as a suspect. It turned out that the incident occurred due to a personal conflict, a criminal case has been opened on the fact, an investigation is underway,” the APA agency reported with reference to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We have no doubt that a criminal case will be fabricated against Zeynalov
“Kenan Zeynalov is an active member of our party. He is a voluntary bodyguard of the head of the PFPA, Ali Karimli. By the way, another bodyguard of Ali Karimli, Niyameddin Akhmedov, was arrested five years ago and sentenced to 13 years, also on fabricated charges. Kenan Zeynalov was previously subjected to administrative arrest, and now a criminal case has been opened,” he added.
On October 5, 2023, a court in Baku arrested Kenan Zeynalov for 25 days, finding him guilty of disobeying police officers. Party members considered Zeynalov’s arrest politically motivated.
Currently, 13 members of the PFPA are being held in prisons on criminal cases, the party calculated.