Opposition rally in Azerbaijan draws 3,000 people

About 3,000 opposition supporters have protested in Azerbaijan's capital, with some calling for a new election after President Ilham Aliyev won a third five-year term earlier this month.
The Oct. 9 vote was criticized by international monitors. The leader of today's protest was Jamil Hasanli, a history professor who ran as the main opposition candidate but got less than 6 percent of the vote compared to Aliyev's 85 percent.
The victory of Aliyev, who succeeded his father, extended decades of dynastic rule in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation. The participants in the protest also called for the release of those whom they consider political prisoners and demanded that the government end pressure on independent media.

The rally, which was sanctioned by authorities, ended calmly.