Court issues a warrant for the arrest of Rauf Mirkadirov (UPDATED)

At 17:00 the Nasimi District Court  passed a sanction  to authorize the arrest of journalist Rauf  Mirkadirov, accused of spying, Turan was told by his lawyer Fuad Agayev, who will make a press conference  at 18:00 at the Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS.) -02В-

2014 April 21 (Monday) 14:00:32

The columnist of the Zerkalo paper, Rauf Mirkadyrov is formally charged with espionage in favor of Armenia, his lawyer Fuad Agayev told Turan.

The materials were sent to the Nasimi district court for a decision on the arrest.

Recall that Mirkadyrov was arrested April 19 immediately after the deportation from Turkey.

The journalist is accused of traveling to Armenia and contacting with Armenian activists without agreement with the Azerbaijani authorities. -06D-

2014 April 20 (Sunday) 13:26:44

Deported from Turkey yesterday, the journalist Rauf Mirkadirov is suspected of treason, the lawyer Fuad Agayev told Turan.

He noted that the investigator of the Investigation Department for Serious Crimes of the Prosecutor General, Ibrahim Lemberanski called him today.

"He said that Mirkadyrov is charged under Article 274 - "treason." I asked in what specific form the "treason" was and the investigator said, "espionage," Agayev said.

Mirkadyrov is contained in the MNS jail and the lawyer can only meet him tomorrow. -0 -

2014 April 19 (Saturday) 18:19:38

 The fate of the journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov deported from Turkey today remains unknown. According to the Ankara police, Mirkadyrov was put on the Ankara - Baku flight at 14:00. However, despite the fact that the plane arrived in Baku at 16:25, Mirkadyrov did not come out of the airport. Journalists who came to the airport to meet Mirkadyrov tried to clarify the fate of their colleague.

But the airline AZAL told them that a passenger named Mirkadyrov did not pass check-in. In the Border Service of the airport they also said that such a passenger did not come to the checkpoint.

 This gives reason to believe that the journalist could be detained right at the aircraft boarding bridge.

Previously, there were cases when Azerbaijani citizens deported from Turkey were detained right at the aircraft boarding bridge by security services.

 Recently Mirkadyrov published articles which criticized the policy of the authorities of Turkey, and Azerbaijan. -0 -

2014 April 19 (Saturday) 14:31:37

The journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov has been deported from Turkey. As the journalist's relatives reported to Turan, he was put on a plane flight Ankara-Baku at 14:00 Baku time and he will arrive in Baku about 17:00.
Mirkadyrov's family (wife and daughter) stayed in Turkey. -02B-

2014 April 19 (Saturday) 12:50:54

On Friday in Ankara was arrested Rauf Mirkadyrov, correspondent of the leading Russian-language newspaper in Azerbaijan, Zerkalo.

The spouse of the journalist, Adele Khanum told Turan, that they were taken by police from the bus with their child and the police checked the documents and took Rauf away.

On the question what the matter was, she was told that their documents expired. "However, we provided documents showing that we have the right to live until the end of the year. Thereafter, the police said that they would sort this out at the police station."

Later, his wife stated that Mirkadyrov would be deported, without explaining why.

" He is currently in police custody and I was not allowed to see him or talk on the phone. I am trying to find a lawyer, " said the woman.

Note that Rauf Mirkadyrov has been living in Ankara with his family for three years and he actively writes on international affairs and has criticized the policies of the Erdogan government in his articles.

There is no doubt that the real reason for his arrest and possible deportation is his journalistic activities. We did not manage to get comments from the Azerbaijani Embassy in Ankara.

The editor of Zerkalo Elchin Shikhli told Turan pressure on Mirkadyrov began two weeks ago. "He was suddenly deprived of accreditation. After that, we turned to the Turkish Ambassador in Baku and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Ankara. No response has been received. Moreover, attempts by the lawyer to appeal the withdrawal of the accreditation were not even considered. Rauf was later told that he had to leave Turkey until April 23 and should never come back.

On April 18, he decided to leave the country and when he was arrested , he told police he was leaving so why they were detaining him. However, the authorities of the apparently brotherly country tend to defiantly expel the objectionable journalist from the country," said the editor.

Recall that in February Turkey expelled another Azerbaijani journalist, 27 year-old Mahir Zeynalov . He was a correspondent for the Turkish newspaper Today Zaman. Reason for the deportation was the publication on Twitter criticizing the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. - 02B-