On July 26, in Tabriz the vice-consul of Azerbaijan, Nariman Orujev, met with the Azeri writers Farid Hussein and Shakhriyar Hajizadeh detained in Iran. This was the first meeting with the young writers after they were arrested in Tabriz on May 2 this year.
As reported in today's briefing in Baku the Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev, the vice-consul met with the detainees in a prison in Tabriz. The prisoners told him that they were kept somewhere else and brought here specifically to meet with the consular official.
They also reported that in the first three weeks after their arrest they were held separately and then together.
To the question of the vice-consul of what they were accused, the writers said that they were accused of visiting Iran "without permission". However, the young poets declared that they had come to the Literary Festival and were returning back through Tabriz, without breaking any laws or regulations.
The Azerbaijani authorities will provide all the necessary legal assistance to the two compatriots, said Elman Abdullayev. He also said that the relatives of the detainees will leave for Iran today. They have been promised to arrange a meeting with the writers in Tabriz on July 28.
Recall that Farid Hussein and Shahryar Hajizadeh were kidnapped in Tabriz in early May on the way from Tehran. There have not been official statements from the Iranian side. However, the Iranian media reported that the writers were accused of espionage.
Official Baku at the highest level rigidly demanded the release of the writers. However, the Iranian media hint that the writers could go free if the pro-Iranian Azerbaijani activists - several journalists and religious leaders arrested in Azerbaijan are also released. -04B-
Politics
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