The Washington prosecutor's office is investigating the beating by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s bodyguards in front of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, reports the RFE/RL’s Washington correspondent, who is referenced by the Azerbaijani service of this radio station.

A video of a protest by Azerbaijanis living in the US and critics of the Azerbaijani government was disseminated on social media on Thursday. They were chanting slogans, "Freedom for political prisoners" and "Freedom for Tofig Yagublu" in front of the aforesaid hotel in Washington where Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was staying.

According to The Washington Post, Azerbaijani Uber driver Rahim Yagublu, 27, said that Ilham Aliyev’s bodyguards beat him, hitting him in the jaw and stomach. Another protester, Adil Amrahli, 35, was injured in the leg while trying to escape from the bodyguards. At least four people were injured, including Yagublu.

Washington police spokesman Tom Lynch said that officers from the US Secret Service’s Special Operations Division were on the scene during the incident involving the Azerbaijani president’s bodyguards. He did not say whether police intervened in the incident. Lynch said the matter was being handled by the US State Department.

The role of the Secret Service is to provide security infrastructure and protective measures for heads of state, said US Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, adding that the aforementioned hotel was within security standards.

Rahim Yagublu said police were nearby during the incident, but they did not intervene. Aliyev’s bodyguards left a few minutes later, and the protesters called an ambulance. Doctors examined the injuries, but no one was hospitalized.

This only shows that he is a dictator, that there is no freedom of speech in Azerbaijan, Rahim Yagublu said of Aliyev. Rahim Yagublu is the son of prominent Azerbaijani opposition figure Tofig Yagublu, who is imprisoned in Azerbaijan.

Adil Amrahli said the protesters ran from the front entrance to the other entrance of the hotel to prevent Aliyev from leaving unnoticed. The goal was to hold a peaceful protest demanding the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, he added.

The Washington Post recalled a clash between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's bodyguards and protesters near the Turkish ambassador's residence in Washington in 2017, which had left 11 people injured, including a police officer.