VZCZCXRO9856
OO RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHKB #0557 1901243
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091243Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1482
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHMZ/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 1415

UNCLAS BAKU 000557 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM AJ
SUBJECT: YOUTH ACTIVISTS BEATEN IN SUSPICIOUS ALTERCATION 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  In a suspicious episode, two young, 
well-known Azerbaijani political activists were beaten up in 
public and later detained by police.  Emin Milli and Adnan 
Hajizade were accosted in a downtown Baku cafe by two burly 
men who provoked a physical confrontation.  Milli, Hajizade 
and the two other men were all arrested afterward.  Milli and 
Hajizade both had injuries requiring treatment before they 
could be taken to detention.  Police reportedly freed the two 
unknown men after three hours, as well as a witness who was 
with Milli and Hajizade.  The two activists refused to sign 
statements without a lawyer present and are to be held for 48 
hours.  The motive for the attack is not immediately clear, 
however Milli and Hajizade are known to be the creators of 
the controversial You Tube &donkey video8 that satirizes 
the Azerbaijani government.  The timing of the attack is 
especially strange because Milli was to have worked July 10 
as the interpreter for the PACE Special Rapporteur for 
Political Prisoners.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to eyewitnesses, Emin Milli (founder of 
the youth group Alumni Network) and Adnan Hajizade (of the 
OL! Youth movement and son of prominent opposition politician 
Hikmet Hajizade) were dining in a group of seven activists at 
a caf in downtown Baku on the evening of July 8.  Two 
heavily built men in tracksuits accosted them and assaulted 
them physically.  Milli received several cuts and Hajizade 
had his nose broken. When police arrived on the scene, they 
arrested Milli, Hajizade and their assailants.  The 
assailants reportedly apologized and were released.  Milli 
and Hajizade were ordered detained on suspicion of 
hooliganism for 48 hours, the amount of time the state has to 
lodge charges under Azerbaijani law.  During the night, 
activists assembled outside the police station and got into a 
brief scuffle with police officers but there were no further 
arrests. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Embassy officers from the PolEcon and Public 
Diplomacy sections attempted to visit Milli and Hajizade in 
jail but were not allowed to.  The police commander present 
told the Embassy officers that the fight began because Milli, 
Hajizade and their friends were drinking and conversing 
loudly and rudely. This offended the women who were in the 
company of the two men who beat Milli and Hajizade and is 
what sparked their confrontation.  He added that on a typical 
night his police station downtown responds to 5-10 such 
complaints.  The Embassy officers requested on humanitarian 
grounds that the detained men have access to medical care and 
legal advice. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Human rights advocates led by Leyla Yunus of the 
Institute of Peace and Democracy held a press conference July 
9 and alleged that Milli and Hajizade had passed the night 
without attention to their injuries.  Yunus and 50 others 
signed an open letter in support of Milli and Hjizade to 
President Aliyev.  At the press conference ) attended by the 
German Ambassador ) it emerged that Milli was supposed to 
have been working as the interpreter for Christoph Strasser, 
a Bundestag member (SPD) who is the PACE Special Rapporteur 
for Political Prisoners in Azerbaijan. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The motive for the attack was not immediately clear, 
but we have no evidence that it was provoked by Milli or 
Hajizade.  Though it is difficult to prove a connection, the 
attack did follow a recent controversial posting on Milli,s 
Facebook page.  He posted a video on YouTube wherein a person 
in a donkey suit is interviewed about Azerbaijan.  The 
genesis of the video was a report that the GOAJ spent USD 
82000 in 2008 to import two donkeys from Germany.  The person 
in the donkey suit represents one of these animals and plays 
musical instruments to show why he is worth USD 41000.  The 
donkey also refers to himself as a &jackass8 and talks at 
length about how Azerbaijan is a fine country for a talented 
jackass like himself. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment. While physical intimidation of political 
activists is not a new phenomenon in Azerbaijan, the timing 
of this incident (one day before Deputy Secretary 
Steinberg,s visit and coincident with the visit of the PACE 
Special Rapporteur) is remarkable. Embassy is in personal 
contact with several witnesses and associates of Milli and 
Hajizade and will continue to follow the case closely. 
Embassy intends to raise the issue with the Presidential 
Administration and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  End Comment. 
 
LU