The members of the Azadlig oppositional election block made attempts on 9 October 2005 to hold an unauthorized action of protest in front of the Baku 28 May metro station.
Approximately at 14.30 the traffic leading to the metro station was restricted (both for vehicles and pedestrians) and in some places there were live cordons of the police, Trend reports. At about 16.00 the group from the coalition’s representatives tried to force its way to the metro from the Azadlig avenue arranging the march. However, at the crossing of the avenue with other streets (Nizami, Hagani, Beybutov, Aliyeva and other) the police managed to avert the oppositionists’ attempts to make their way to the venue of the unsanctioned action. A serious clash took place in Hagani street close to the headquarters of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA). Up to 10 wounded action’s participants have been accommodated at the headquarters, while the especially active protestors were detained. An ambulance car arrived to the incident scene.
Meanwhile the alliance’s members attempted to stage march in the central Nizami street, which the policemen prevented.
At around 17.15 the group of protesters started to chant the slogans “Freedom”, “Free Elections” close to the Sahil underground station in front of the “Yeni Azerbaiajn” (New Azerbaijan) Party headquarters. Here there were also clashes and the police forces drove the action’s participants, as well as journalists in the Sahil garden.
During the action, along with the protesters, the reporter of the Ayna-Zerkalo newspaper Idrak Abbasov has suffered an injury, falling down on the earth and losing his conscientiousness. Although the policemen stated they did not inflicted him severe injuries, the surrounding people said, a person in civillian dress stroke a blow on the journalist, after which he fainted.
