Baku police officer fired for spreading footage of bus hitting Austrian athletes
Baku police officer is fired for spreading the footage that shows the Austrian athletes being hit by bus, Rosbalt reports citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country.
According to Rosbalt, an employee of video surveillance service in a district police station shot the footage from the surveillance camera on his mobile. Later he sent the footage to a friend who uploaded it on YouTube.
The bus driver, Veli Ahmadov, was detained the same day and arrested before the investigation was finished. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s Office consider imposing legal accountability on the transport company that operated the buses for not carrying out its responsibility to hire highly professional drivers, according to Rosbalt.
BBC reports that Austria won a silver medal in the synchronized swimming at the European Games in Baku, four days after three members of the squad were hit by a bus in the athlete's village.
“Vanessa Sahinovic - one of the three 15-year-olds hit by the bus - was put in an induced coma after surgery. She had a 10-hour operation in Vienna after being flown from Azerbaijan,” BBC says.
On June 11, Austrian Olympic officials said three representatives from the Austrian team, teenage synchronized swimmers that had arrived in Baku for the European Games, were hospitalized after being hit by a shuttle bus on the sidewalk in the athletes’ village. One of them, Vanessa Sahinovic had multiple fractures and other severe injuries. She was transported to Vienna on air ambulance for neurological treatment. Luna Pajer injured both of her arms. She was also taken to Vienna.
On 12-28 June, Baku is hosting the first European Games under the auspices of the European Olympic Committee. According to media estimates, the Games will cost the Azerbaijani population $10 billion. However, they have become a serious headache for the locals with numerous bans and demolition of property. The preparatory works for the Games are accompanied by crackdowns and brutal repressions against dissent.
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