Baku/21.02.22/ The work of the R-Qrup Kargo company was suspended after the arrest of its head and three drivers. 20 people lost their jobs, the company said. On February 17, drivers of four trucks blocked Heydar Aliyev Avenue in Baku, demanding that officials of the State Motor Transport Service issue permits, due to the lack of which the goods received for transportation deteriorate. The police unblocked the road, the drivers were detained.
On February 18, a court in Baku administratively arrested two drivers for 30 days, and another was released for health reasons.
The director of the company, Ramish Jafarov, who also participated in the protest, was prosecuted under the Article 233 (violation of public order) of the Criminal Code. The court ruled his detention for two months. Today, his lawyer filed an appeal against the arrest.
Human rights activists questioned the legitimacy of the criminal prosecution of the director of the company. According to the head of the Baku Human Rights Club, Rasul Jafarov, in this case, the actions of the protesters can be considered only in the plane of administrative law, and not criminal law.
In his opinion, the talk is about a violation of traffic rules or disobedience to the police. Imprisoning a director of a company pending investigation is also an excessive measure.
“The act imputed to him refers to crimes that do not pose a great danger, and this article provides for alternative types of punishment not related to deprivation of liberty. Therefore, other measures of restraint may be chosen for the period of investigation – house arrest, or transfer of portions under supervision,” Jafarov told Turan. Another human rights activist Namizad Safarov shares a similar opinion.
“In my opinion, it is not correct to qualify the actions of the director of the company as a criminal act. It was a protest to draw attention to a real problem. Claims against the participants of the action may be in the plane of administrative law. Secondly, if a criminal case has been started, then there is no need to take the director into custody. During the investigation, he may be at large. Moreover, the article of the charge does not apply to serious crimes,” the human rights activist told Turan.
Due to the arrest of drivers and the director, as well as the lack of transportation permits, the company’s activities have been suspended, its spokesman Rashad Borjali told Turan.
According to him, due to the suspension of the company’s activities, about 20 people were temporarily unemployed.
Previously, civil society activists have pointed to the problems of corruption in the trucking industry, which is causing small transport companies to suffer losses.—06B-
