The United States has raised the issue of media crackdown 'on a number of occasions' with Azerbaijan, the State Department said on Thursday, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.
"I’m not going to speak to any specific engagement, but yes, we have raised this on a number of occasions with them," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing when asked by TURAN on the latest media clampdown which led to this week's arrest of leading anti-corruption journalist Hafiz Babali, along with others.
"... The recent trend of detaining journalists is deeply troubling, and we continue to urge the Azerbaijani Government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of everyone, including those exercising freedom of expression," Miller said.
Babali is at least the seventh member or press arrested in Azerbaijan in the past three weeks.
Politics
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On January 23, the Deputy Commander of the Azerbaijani Ground Forces, Ilgar Latifov, met with a Pakistani delegation headed by the Director General of Military Operations, Abdullah Kashif. The parties discussed the state and prospects for the development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, as well as the importance of increasing the intensity of joint exercises.
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The announcement of 2025 as the "Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty" in Azerbaijan has sparked rumors and speculation about the government's plans to hold a constitutional referendum this year. Today's statement in the Milli Majlis by the head of the parliamentary committee on human rights and concurrently the director of the Center for Humanitarian Studies, Zahid Oruj, confirmed that these expectations are not groundless.
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As part of the peace process with Azerbaijan, Armenia has proposed solutions to all agenda issues, stated Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia's Security Council, on January 23. "We are not asking for peace, we are offering peaceful solutions to all existing issues. For the two unresolved points, we have sent proposals and are waiting for a response from the Azerbaijani side. We hope that we will find solutions," Grigoryan said, according to Armenian media. Meanwhile, the press service of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Turan that "negotiations on the text of the peace agreement are ongoing."
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On January 23, Hilal Mammadov, a member of the Board of the Public Council of Talysh of Azerbaijan (OSTA), was interrogated by the State Security Service (SGB) as a witness in the case of researcher Igbal Abilov, who is accused of treason. As reported by Turan, Mammadov was questioned about Abilov's activities, scientific works, and publications.
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