Uzbek man detained in Azerbaijan gives press conference
Baku, November 7 (AZERTAC). Citizen of the former Soviet republic Uzbekistan Zamirjon Otajonov, who was earlier detained on suspicion of espionage, held a press conference in Baku. Otajonov said he came to Azerbaijan in summer and worked as an electrician for two months. Later, Otajonov left for Georgia for treatment, after having been treated he left for Ufa city, Russian Federation, where he found a new job.
“I was told that direct flight to Ufa is from Yerevan. I came to Armenia-Georgia border on September 24. The Armenian border guards took my documents on the border and began long inspections,” he said.
The citizen of Uzbekistan said he was arrested at the border checkpoint. “From the very beginning I was treated badly. Then, they began to ask questions about Azerbaijan. I was put in a dark and close place and I was tortured there. They told me: ‘Tell us the truth, we will buy a ticket for you and send you to Russia.’ Then they began to beat me,” he said.
Otajonov said he was not given food or water, was tortured several times a day. The third day he was forced to sign a document.
“The document was in Armenian language, therefore, I refused to sign it. After that I was insulted and underwent physical assault. I could do nothing but sign the document. They took me to a cell. There were insanitary conditions in the cell. I was tortured terribly. I suffer from blood disease, I always have medicine box. They took my box, I could not take medicine. I asked them not to hit my spleen. But they deliberately hit it,” he said.
Otajonov said the next day he was brought to the Georgian border and was told to leave Armenia. “They told me to run away. They even did not return my money. When I wanted my money back, they insulted me. I could reach Ufa with difficulties. When I was in Ufa I saw a false article on Facebook. I decided to come to Azerbaijan and tell the truth,” he said.
According to the statement issued by the National Security Service of Armenia on October 10, 2012, “the citizen of the Republic of Uzbekistan Zamirjon Otajonov appealed to the National Security Service of Armenia and said that he was ready to commit terrorist attacks in Azerbaijan’s capital in exchange for $20 000”. The National Security Service of Armenia reported that in fact, Zamirjon Otajonov was involved in confidential cooperation by the Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan and sent to Armenia for inciting Armenia to provocation.
Otajonov arrived in Azerbaijan, after he was aware of false information about him. He asked the Azerbaijani law-enforcement bodies in Samur border checkpoint to help him refute in mass media the groundless, biased reports released by Armenia about him. Otajonov also said that he intends to appeal to the International Court of Human Rights.
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