Baku / 11.11.19 / Turan: After the opposition rally on October 19, dozens of journalists covering the rally were subjected to pressure from the police. This was expressed in telephone calls to the mobile numbers of journalists demanding to report to the police and explain their participation in the protest rally of the National Council of Democratic Forces.
“Last Saturday I received a call from the 10th police station of the Garadagh district and was demanded to come to the police station to explain why I attended the rally on October 19,” journalist Islam Shikhali wrote on his Facebook page.
“I answered the caller that where, when and why I am situated is not his business and I was not going to give any explanations to him and asked him not to bother me,” he continued.
However, on November 10, an employee of the criminal investigation department of the Nasimi district police called the journalist, demanding he come to the department. Having not received an answer to the question about the reason for the call, the journalist demanded they send him an official document.
A similar situation was described by the photojournalist Fargana Novruzova, who also covered the rally on October 19.
More than 10 journalists reported pressure from the police. Some of them came to the police, where they were demanded to explain their presence at the rally and recommended not to cover the opposition’s actions.
Journalists regard the actions of the police as a gross violation of the law on media in Azerbaijan and the law on the Police.
Attempts by law enforcement agencies to interfere, restrict, regulate or prohibit journalists from fulfilling their professional duties is a flagrant violation of local law and Azerbaijan’s international obligations. This was repeatedly stated by lawyers and media experts.
However, the most alarming factor is that the police are monitoring the telephone numbers of journalists, recording all mobile calls in the rally area. Thus, illegal surveillance of citizens is carried out. It is no coincidence that all journalists were tracked precisely by mobile phones and called precisely by them. Moreover, the police called even those with whom the journalists spoke on the phone during the rally. -16B-
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