'Deeply Troubled':  State Dept On Detention of Anar Mammadli

The U.S. State Department on Monday reacted to the detention of Anar Mammadli, the head of the Election Monitoring Center in Azerbaijan.

"We are deeply troubled by the continuing arrests of members of Azerbaijani civil society – most recently, Anar Mammadli," a State Department spokesperson told TURAN's Washington correspondent.

Mammadli's detention on Monday is the latest in a series of arrests of civic activists and journalists.

"We urge the Azerbaijani government to immediately release all individuals who are unjustly detained," a State Department spokesperson said. "We continue to urge the Azerbaijani government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all, including those exercising freedom of expression."

Mammadly's detention came just a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in which he "urged Azerbaijan to adhere to its international human rights obligations and commitments and release those unjustly detained in Azerbaijan," according to the State Department's readout of the call.