Twenty-eight activists of Azerbaijan\'s opposition bloc Azadlyg have been detained by police for holding an unauthorized rally in Baku on Sunday, sources in the city\'s central police department said in a press release. \"Small groups of radical opposition party activists violated public order in busy public places with intensive traffic. The overall number of participants in the rally did not exceed 400 people. Police took measures to prevent this unsanctioned action. Twenty-eight action participants who gravely violated public order and ignored police orders were detained,\" the release reads. Eleven policemen were injured in clashes with the demonstrators, it reads. The Azadlyg bloc comprises the Democratic Party, the Musavat party and the People\'s Front of Azerbaijan. People\'s Front of Azerbaijan leader Ali Kerimli told a news conference that from the very beginning, the authorities had planned to use force to thwart the rally. \"We asked the Baku City Hall to allocate a venue for the rally, but the City Hall, following recommendations from the presidential administration, did not provide us with a venue, which we view as illegal,\" Kerimli said. \"We have information that at least 52 participants in the rally were detained. In fact, several hundred people were detained. Twenty- seven sustained severe injuries. Ten journalists were injured as well. Two of them have been admitted to the intensive care unit,\" he said. Fuad Akhundov, chief of a directorate of the presidential administration\'s social and political department, said that the opposition tends to exaggerate the scale and role of individual events. \"Numerous public opinion surveys suggest that the Azadlyg bloc has a popularity rating of 6%-7%, while its leaders have announced plans to win more than 70% of seats in the country\'s future parliament. All this indicates that the opposition is prone to exaggerations. That is why today\'s action and Kerimli\'s assessment of it should be viewed in this context,\" Akhundov said. (Interfax)