Baku / 20.06.19 / Turan: Institute for Freedom and Security and Reporters (IRFS) condemned the Azerbaijani authorities for politically motivated arrests of journalists Ikram Ragimov and Polad Aslanov and urged them to stop putting pressure on freedom of speech, to release all imprisoned journalists for their professional activities .
The IRFS announced the involvement of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan in arrest and sentencing to 5.5 years Iall Rahimov, editor of the website realliq.info, and arrest on charges of state treason of the founder of xeberman.com and press-az.com, Polad Aslanov.
"The fact that the leading intelligence service of Azerbaijan arrests a journalist on clearly fabricated charges of extortion raises many questions. Why does the ministry, which must fight terrorism and serious security crimes, participate in the arrest of a journalist? "The statement reads.
The arrest of journalist Polad Aslanov and also on trumped-up charges of state treason raises even more questions.
"Against the background of a tense social, economic and political situation in the country, the Azerbaijani authorities continue to intensify attacks on unwanted media representatives, discrediting and arresting them," the statement said.
The reform course announced by the authorities is nothing more than a deliberate attempt to mislead the international community in anticipation of the signing of a cooperation agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan.
The IRFS urges the authorities to immediately release all detained and arrested journalists, including Afgan Mukhtarly, Seymour Hezi, Elchin Ismayilli, Zia Asadli, Araz Guliyev, Ikrama Ragimov and Polad Aslanov.
IRFS calls on Azerbaijan"s western partners to condemn the authorities "new attacks on freedom of expression. -06D-
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