Azerbaijani journalist forcibly detained, while covering opposition candidate’s protest

The Committee to Protect Journalists calls for a swift investigation into the September 6 detention and transfer of Azerbaijani journalist Shahla Karim, who was released several hours later.

“In yet another example of the harassment of media and lawlessness in Azerbaijan, journalist Shahla Karim was forcibly removed and transported hundreds of kilometers away from her reporting site to prevent her from covering elections and related protests,” said CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said. “Azerbaijani authorities must quickly identify and hold to account those responsible for detaining Karim and ensure that she gets her journalistic equipment back.”

Karim, a freelance journalist for several independent news outlets, was reporting on opposition candidate Vafa Nagi’s (Nagieva) protest of alleged election fraud in Azerbaijan’s September 1 parliamentary elections when around 10 plainclothes men in surgical masks forcibly detained the journalist, the candidate, and the candidate’s aide in the southeastern city of Neftchala. The three were driven to the capital Baku, around 180 kilometres (110 miles) away, where they were released, according to news reports and Karim, who spoke to CPJ by messaging app. Karim also posted about the incident on Facebook.

Karim told CPJ that she repeatedly identified herself as a journalist, as is audible in video she posted of the incident, and said she believed the men were law enforcement officers because uniformed police at the scene did not intervene. The men said “those were the orders” when Karim asked why she was detained, and the men seemed to be receiving orders by telephone, according to the journalist.

After around four hours, the men dropped them off in a Baku suburb and returned their phones, but kept Karim’s microphone, she said.

Azerbaijani journalists covering the elections have reported being forcibly ejected from polling stations, having their cameras struck by election officials, and cell phones snatched by individuals allegedly committing electoral fraud. The ongoing crackdown against the press has seen 13 independent journalists charged with major economic crimes, leaving independent media unable to adequately cover the elections, said several journalists.

CPJ emailed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, which oversees the police, for comment but did not immediately receive a reply.