Journalist Shamo Eminov arrested

Baku/27.12.23/Turan: Journalist Shamo Eminov, who co-operated with Youtube project "Kanal-13", has been arrested on smuggling charges.

Eminov was detained on 22 December, his wife Durdana Eminova told Turan. In the evening of the same day, their home was searched.

"On 22 December in the morning, Shamo left the house to go for an interview. Later, I left the house and went to visit my daughter. In the evening, I received a call from the police that they had my husband and asked me to bring his diploma. When I returned home to get my diploma, I saw that everything in the flat was scattered and my husband's laptop was missing. It turned out that a search had been conducted," Eminova said.

She said that for five days she could not clarify the fate of her husband.

Only on 26 December Eminov called for 2-3 minutes and said that he was accused of "smuggling" and the court chose a preventive measure against him in the form of arrest for 3 months and 5 days.

"But he did not commit any crime, he is not guilty of anything," the journalist's wife said.

A month ago, the head of Kanal-13, Aziz Orujev, was arrested. He was first charged with "illegal construction of a house" and then with "large-scale smuggling by prior conspiracy."

According to "Kanal-13" director Anar Orujev, who is abroad, Rufat Muradly, the channel's anchor serving administrative detention, is also charged in Aziz Orujev's case.

However, Rufat Muradly's lawyer Nazim Musayev said he has no such information.

The lawyer said he met Muradly in the detention centre yesterday and the latter also told him nothing about any criminal charges against him.

Muradly's administrative arrest expires on 1 January, the lawyer said.-06B-