Azerbaijan arrests protesters

Azerbaijani police Friday arrested activists seeking to hold a protest in the capital Baku. The opposition said dozens of activists had been arrested while police said 10 were detained.

Reuters/Abbas Atilay

Activists had called for a "Great People's Day in Azerbaijan" on Friday to protest against President Ilham Aliyev’s government. On the group’s Facebook page, some 4,135 people had said they would attend the protest by Friday morning.

The leader of the opposition Liberal-Democratic party Fuad Aliyev was among those arrested, as well as the son of the leader of the opposition Musavat party, Isa Gambar, Gambar told French press agency AFP.

The authorities had arrested at least five activists ahead of the planned protest.

The European Union delegation in Baku expressed concern on Friday over an increasing number of reports of arrests of youth activists in Azerbaijan.