Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered a speech in Armenian at the expanded summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Bishkek. The Kremlin described this as a "signal" regarding Armenia's sovereignty but admitted it "did not understand" why the statement could not have been made in Russian.
The international human rights organization Amnesty International has launched a campaign in defense of opposition politician and economist Gubad Ibadoglu, who was arrested in Azerbaijan. “The arrest and prosecution of Gubad Ibadoglu is an obvious revenge for criticizing the Azerbaijani government, political and public activities. This is also revenge for helping to create a fund that sought to allocate funds for the country's students from foreign assets seized from Azerbaijani corrupt officials,” the appeal to the president says.
Gubad Ibadoglu has serious health problems, type 2 diabetes and hypertension, his life is in danger due to poor conditions in the pre-trial detention center and the lack of adequate medical care, the organization's website says. Amnesty International called on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to release Ibadoglu.
Gubad Ibadoglu was detained on July 23 and charged with possession of counterfeit money. Earlier, he criticized the Azerbaijani authorities, initiated the confiscation of property from officials.