A court in Azerbaijan today sentenced an opposition activist to two-and-a-half years in jail on drug possession charges that his party claims are trumped up.
"The Sumgait town court has convicted a young activist of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, Dashgin Melikov, to two years and six months in prison," the party's press service said.
"Our party rejects this decision and considers it an attempt to intimidate the youth activists in the year of presidential elections," the press service added.
The government in the oil-rich ex-Soviet state, which is set to hold presidential polls in October, is usually tough on any display of public discontent or political dissent.
Strongman president Ilham Aliyev is the overwhelming favourite to win the vote, despite a coalition of opposition groups nominating Oscar-winning screenwriter Rustam Ibragimbekov as its sole candidate to challenge the incumbent.
In May, Human Rights Watch accused Azerbaijani authorities of using bogus drug charges to arrest government critics as part of a bid to stifle dissent ahead of the polls.
Earlier this year, security officials ruthlessly suppressed a rare spate of protests, including one against alleged hazing in the army, detaining scores of activists across the country.
Aliyev has been in power since succeeding his father Heydar, a former KGB officer and Communist-era boss, in 2003.
