Police Disperse Mourners In Baku, Dozens Detained
DownloadSeveral students were injured when police used force to disperse the crowd.
BAKU -- Dozens of youths were arrested in Baku today as they attempted to mourn the victims of a mass killing at the State Oil Academy a year ago, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
On April 30, 2009, a gunman broke into the Oil Academy and opened fire on students and teachers, killing 12 people. When police tried to detain him, he killed himself.
A student offers flowers to a policeman, as young mourners were dispersed. Police identified the gunman as a 29-year-old Georgian citizen of Azerbaijani descent.
Criminal proceedings have been opened against several other suspects on a number of charges, including terrorism.
RFE/RL correspondents reported that police today blocked all roads to the Oil Academy as groups of students approached the site to lay flowers.
Several students were injured when police used force to disperse the crowd.
Dozens of students were detained and the police raided the office of an opposition youth group.