Opposition figure Gulu Mammadli stated that the arrest of Ali Karimli, leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA), was expected, but the reasons go beyond simple criticism of the authorities. According to Mammadli, Karimli's publications in major Western media have increased his political significance and visibility abroad, which has caused concern among the Azerbaijani authorities.
December 8, 2001
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In the center of the village of Katyr-Yurt, at the entrance to the village council, the military, who drove up in two ZAZ cars, seized a local resident named Bokov (name unknown). During his arrest, a pistol was confiscated from Bokov. According to eyewitnesses, during the arrest, Bokov said that he had found the gun and was on his way to the village council to voluntarily surrender it.
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At approximately 10 o'clock in the morning, on the eastern outskirts of the village of Gekhi, a ZAZ car was blown up by a landmine. There were five POM employees in the car, led by chief Bayan Nafikov. As a result of the explosion, the head of the POM had his arm and leg torn off, and the driver of the car also had his arm torn off. Three other policemen received severe shrapnel wounds. All the wounded were taken to the Urus-Martan regional hospital.
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In Grozny, at the city market, an attempt was made on the life of an employee of the prosecutor's office, Rashid Makhmudovich Baklaev, born in 1963. The attacker fired from Stechkin’s pistol and wounded Baklaev in the stomach. However, he managed to snatch the gun from the attacker and wound him. However, the unknown person managed to escape in a taxi. During the shootout, Valentina Shepievna Edieva, born in 1952, who was trading at the market at that time, was wounded.
From the book “People Live Here”, Usam Baysaev, Dmitry Grushkin, 2006.