Another Azerbaijani Opposition Leader's Detention Extended

REAL leader Ilqar Mammadov (left) and Musavat Party deputy head Tofiq Yaqublu were arrested in February and charged with helping organize riots in the town of Ismayilli, northwest of Baku.

BAKU -- A court in Baku has extended the pretrial detention of Ilqar Mammadov, the head of the Republican Alternative (REAL) opposition movement.

Mammadov was ordered on August 14 to stay in detention until November 4.

On August 13, another opposition leader, Tofiq Yaqublu, who is the deputy head of the opposition Musavat Party, was remanded in custody until December 4.

Mammadov and Yaqublu were arrested in February and charged with helping organize riots in the town of Ismayilli, northwest of the capital, Baku.

On January 23, thousands of Ismayilli residents demanded the resignation of the district's governor, setting fire to his residence, to cars, and a local motel.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.

Arriving in Ismayilli the following day, Yaqublu and Mammadov called for civil disobedience.

With reporting by AFP