Mass arrests and beatings are reported to take place in Benanyar village of Nakhijevan Autonomous Republic, Azerbaijan.

According to Azeri media reports, the situation escalated in December 2009, when two dozens of the village elders were arrested and tortured. On January 5, police cordoned off the village and arrested most of men there, Lenta.ru said.

The local authorities label the reports as 'fiction'. Meanwhile, Nakhijevani outpost in Baku confirmed a conflict between the local law enforcers are villagers.