A man in Azerbaijan’s Sabirabad district has been fined after posting a WhatsApp “Status” requesting a video of a police patrol vehicle, an incident that escalated into an administrative case.
According to Lent.az, the 39-year-old resident of Garalar village – identified under a changed name as Farid Movsumov – published the following message in his WhatsApp status: “If anyone has a video of police vehicle No. 125, send it.” The post appeared to be an attempt to locate an image of the patrol car.
Police invited him to the regional Traffic Police Department to clarify why he had posted the message. Once there, Movsumov reportedly entered into a verbal dispute with officers and refused to comply with their instructions.
As a result, authorities filed administrative charges under Article 510 (petty hooliganism) and Article 535.1 (failure to obey lawful police orders) of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
During the hearing, Movsumov said the patrol car with license plate No. 125 had photographed him, prompting him to look for a video of the vehicle. He told the court he had later deleted the status.
“They first called me to the district police department, then sent me to the Traffic Police. When I explained why I posted the status, they gave me a warning. I got nervous,” he said.
Movsumov added that he regretted the incident, had no prior record, and is the father of two young children – circumstances he asked the court to consider.
The Sabirabad District Court fined him 50 manats.
