Political tensions in Azerbaijan took a tragic turn earlier this week when an adolescent tried to defend his dissident father from classmates’ insults. Fifteen-year-old Vasif Miralamli was charged on April 7 with the allegedly premeditated murder of a fellow student in his school in Jalilabad District, some 200 kilometers west of Baku.
The student was stabbed in an April 5 brawl that began after youngsters taunted Miralamli for police having beaten his father, Tazakhan Miralamli, chairperson of the local branch of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, at an April 2 protest rally in Baku. Amnesty International and online news services posted photos of Tazakhan Miralamli with bruises on his face.
Police in Jalilabad allege that Vasif Miralamli stabbed classmate Javanshir Hasanov, who died of his wounds in a local hospital. Miralamli confirmed that his son participated in the brawl. The deceased student’s parents, however, charge that hospital neglect led to their son's death.
Government supporters have seized the opportunity to condemn Miralamli's political activism. The opposition member's wife and second son had to leave Jalilabad after a crowd of government supporters gathered in front of his house yelling that “the opposition does not belong in Azerbaijan” and “the opposition is a contagious virus," Regnum.ru reported.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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