XUDAT, Azerbaijan -- Authorities in Azerbaijan's northeastern town of Xudat have sentenced four local residents to 10 days in jail for taking part in an unapproved protest.

The deputy chairman of the opposition Musavat party, Gulaga Aslanli, told RFE/RL that three of the men sentenced on May 10 were Musavat members.

The four were arrested one day earlier after dozens of people demanded justice for a man allegedly beaten by soldiers.

The man's son told RFE/RL that a car carrying drunken soldiers hit his father's vehicle on May 9 and then they attacked his father.

In January, a traffic incident involving the son of a cabinet minister sparked violent antigovernment protests in the town of Ismayilli.

Special events were planned throughout Azerbaijan on May 10 to mark the 90th birthday of the country's late president, Heydar Aliyev, the father of incumbent President Ilham Aliyev.