Azerbaijani opposition activist and vocal government critic Tofiq Yaqublu says he was severely beaten in police custody after being detained at a protest rally on December 1. Appearing in a video after his release, he was badly bruised and said he was nearly suffocated by officers.
Azerbaijanis go to the polls this weekend to choose members of their parliament. After decades of elections plagued by media manipulation and dirty tricks, opposition activists hold out little hope of challenging the dominance of President Ilham Aliyev's party in the vote on February 9.
