Iran finally acknowledges the detention of Azerbaijani writers

On June 21, Iranian authorities acknowledged the arrest of two Azerbaijanis, young writers Farid Hussein and Shahriyar Hajizade. According to Elman Abdullayev, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, the young men were arrested on May 2, but the official response was obtained only now, in spite of numerous notes requesting clarification of the situation.

"The response of the Iranian side stated that the citizens of Azerbaijan initiated a crime. However, the type of crime is not specified, what exactly they committed, and where they are kept," said Abdullayev.

On June 21 the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in its reply message to the Iranian Foreign Ministry, urged them to allow the detainees communication with the representatives of the Azerbaijani consulate in Tabriz, in order to learn about their health and the conditions of detention.

Previously it was reported that the young writers arrived in Tehran to attend the presentation of a book, then they departed for Tabriz, where they were detained as soon as they got off the bus.

The international organization "Reporters without Borders" demanded the immediate release of the Azerbaijani writers. --03B-