Staff of the Institute of Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS) Rasim Aliyev and Mehman Huseynov were subjected to physical pressure in the discharge of their duties on June 3. It happened in the afternoon on June 3 in the center of Baku, on Nizami (Torgovaya) Street, when reporters covered the action of youth in support of the demonstrations in Turkey.
"I shot a video with a dispute between a policeman and a young girl - participant of the action. The police officer insulted her, but when he saw me, he jumped on me and hit, screaming that I must not shoot him," Aliyev said.
The policeman hit the journalist with fists, despite the fact that Aliyev was in the identification vest with the word "press" on. At the same time, other policemen insulted the reporter in words.
A second reporter for IRFS - Mehman Huseynov had to photograph it all. According to him, the commander of the police ordered them to withdraw cameras and reporters to erase their frames. However Mehman managed to escape.
The representative of the Media Rights Institute Khalid Agaliyev described the police action as a serious restriction on freedom of expression and the rights of journalists.
"The attack on a journalist falls under Article 163 of the Criminal Code. The police officers should be prosecuted," said Agaliyev.
In turn, the head of the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Orkhan Mansurzadeh said that the journalists subjected to violence should contact the police. This will be investigated and assessed.
As the director of IRFS Emin Huseynov told Turan, he has made a formal complaint to the head of the Interior Ministry.
"We demand punishment of the police officers that exerted physical pressure and insulted our reporter," he said. -16B06-
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