Watchdog

The chairman of the youth wing of the opposition Musavat (Equality) party in Azerbaijan has been detained.

Musavat party officials say Farac Karimli was detained at a health center in Baku on July 23.

Karimli's father, Rafiq Karimli, told RFE/RL that his family had not been informed where his son is being held.

On July 17, Farac's brother Sirac was arrested and charged with drug possession.

According to Musavat officials, Karimli's detention is politically motivated as the 29-year-old opposition activist is an administrator of the party's website and played a big role in the party's online activities.

Interior Ministry spokesman Ehsan Zahidov told RFE/RL he has no information regarding Karimli's arrest or current whereabouts.

Detained Tajik researcher Aleksandr Sodikov has been released from jail on July 22 after spending 36 days in pretrial detention in Dushanbe.

Media reports in Tajikistan cite Sodikov's relatives as saying that Sodikov was requested not to leave Dushanbe while an investigation into his case continues.

Sodikov, 31, a Tajik national residing in Canada, was detained in Tajikistan's southern city of Khorugh on June 16, shortly after speaking with civil society activists there.

He was later charged with high treason and spying.

Sodikov denies any wrongdoing, saying he had been touring Central Asia as part of his doctoral research at Britain’s University of Exeter and the University of Toronto in Canada.

With reporting by Ozodagon