'Journalism Is Not A Crime': U.S. Continues To Urge Azerbaijan To Respect Rights, Freedoms

The United States said on Tuesday once again urged the Azerbaijani government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all, including those exercising freedom of expression, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"The recent trend of detaining journalists, civil society activists, and opposition figures in Azerbaijan is deeply troubling. Over a dozen such figures have been detained in just the last month," a State Department spokesperson told TURAN when asked about the latest arrests of two more journalists — Elnara Gasimova and Shahin Rzayev, who are 9th and 10th on the list of imprisoned journalists which has been growing since November.

A Baku court on Monday ordered Gasimova, a reporter with the Abzas Media investigative news site, to be held in pre-trial detention until April 3 on charges of smuggling.

Separately, Shahin Rzayev, a political observer with JAM News, an outlet that covers the South Caucasus, was arrested and ordered to be held for 15 days on charges of "petty hooliganism." He was fined and released Tuesday evening by the Baku Court of Appeal.

In response to TURAN's Washington correspondent's inquiry, a State Department spokesperson said today :  "As President Biden said on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, “Journalism is not a crime – it is fundamental to a free society.” We continue to urge the Azerbaijani government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all, including those exercising freedom of expression."