New Provocations against Journalists in Nakhchivan

During the day on Wednesday, provocations were committed against representatives of the independent media. An unknown young man, twice attacked an employee of the Institute of Reporters Freedom and Safety, Elman Abbasov, and two hours later, an employee from the web-site “Contact”,  Ilgar Nasibov.

The unknown young man introduced himself as a relative of entrepreneur, Nadir Mammadov, who was arrested the other day for resisting Sadarak customs officials.

"It's your fault that they arrested uncle Nadir, and we will punish you for that!" cried the young man, using foul language.

Elman Abbasov and Ilgar Nasibov noticed an employee from the National Security Ministry standing near. "I noticed how the officer of the NSM beckoned the young man to step away from me," Elman Abbasov told Turan.

A close relative of the arrested entrepreneur, Elmira Mamedova told Turan, that none of their relatives claim to know the journalists, and did not know that young man.

Journalists believe a "relative" of the arrested entrepreneur, Elmir Mamedov, was used to intimidate journalists protecting the violated rights of local entrepreneurs.

There is every reason to believe that under pressure from the employees of the NSM, the relatives of the arrested businessmen refused to hold a press conference and talk about their problems.

On 11 December, two Nakhchivan entrepreneurs, Nadir Mammadov and Mammad Gurbanov, were detained by customs after refusing to pay a bribe. When they appealed to journalists, the customs officers attacked them and beat them. Later, a lawsuit was filed against the businesses for resisting authorities. -23В-