A court in Baku today ordered journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov, Turkey correspondent for the independent Azerbaijani newspaper Zerkalo, to jail for three months pending trial on espionage charges after he was deported from Turkey, news reports said.
News reports said the journalist and commentator Mirkadyrov had reported from Turkey for the past three years, and had often criticized both Turkish and Azeri authorities for human rights abuses. In addition to reporting for Zerkalo, news reports said, Mirkadyrov was involved in nongovernmental projects on improving dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have not had diplomatic relations since the early 1990s, due to a dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
According to CPJ research, Mirkadyrov is the ninth journalist behind bars in Azerbaijan. The latest jailing comes just before Azerbaijan is to assume in mid-May rotating chairmanship of the Council of Europe, the Strasbourg-based intergovernmental human rights body. The 47 members of the council "have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law," according to its website.
"As if deportation is not enough, Rauf Mirkadyrov is accused of being a spy and jailed. We call on Azerbaijani authorities to drop these trumped-up charges and stop abusing the law to silence independent reporting on the country," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. "Azerbaijan is quickly becoming one of the leading jailers of journalists in the Eurasia region."
Press freedom conditions in Azerbaijan have been on a steady decline in recent years, CPJ research shows. Despite their declared commitments to uphold press freedom, as well as the obligations before the Council of Europe, Azerbaijani authorities have jailedand harassed critics, adopted laws restricting the press, and imposed draconian restrictions on nongovernmental organizations.-0-
Politics
-
The Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan reacted to the report of the Kazakh side on the crash of AZAL aircraft on 25 December, published on Tuesday 4 February.
-
The Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan has published a preliminary report on the investigation of the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer-190 aircraft, which occurred on December 25, 2024, near Aktau. The report is publicly available on the ministry's official website.
-
Under the gray, expansive skies of Brussels, a beacon of administrative initiative at the European Commission sparked to life this month, heralding a renewed vigor in the European Union’s diplomatic outreach. The newly established Directorate General for Enlargement and the Eastern Neighborhood (DG ENEST) debuted on February 1st, setting a new course for EU interaction with its eastern neighbors and potential new members.
-
Journalist Nargiz Abaslamova, held in Baku's Detention Center No. 1, was subjected to violence by a guard. While passing by the cell of her colleague Sevinj Vagifgizi, Abaslamova tried to greet her, reported on Abzas Media's Facebook page. However, guard Aygul Babaeva forcibly dragged Abaslamova away and deeply scratched the journalist's arm. Abaslamova stated that this is not the first time the mentioned guard has used force and been rude to journalists. A few days ago, Babaeva also used force against Sevinj Vagifgizi.
Leave a review