«Найти и наказать виновных» - петиция к руководству Азербайджана

"Find and punish the perpetrators" - petition to Azerbaijani leadership

Baku/09.05.22/Turan: A group of media and civil society representatives called on President Ilham Aliyev and the heads of law enforcement agencies due to the attack on journalist Ayten Mammadova.

They called on the head of the state and the heads of the law enforcement agencies as officials in charge of the safety of each citizen to ensure an effective investigation into the attack on Mammadova and to find and punish the perpetrators.

The authors of the appeal pointed out that the attack on journalists, the restriction of freedom of expression is a violation by Azerbaijan of its obligations to international organizations in the field of human rights.

Note that the laws of the country require that no journalist should be subjected to pressure or intimidation for his/her professional activities.

The authors of the appeal emphasize that in recent months Ayten Mammadova has been covering the trial of Ilkin Suleymanov, accused of murdering a minor girl.

The trial revealed inconsistencies in the prosecution materials, oddities, doubts in the reliability of the evidence which was covered in Mammadova's publications.

The authors of the appeal are confident that Mammadova's attack and threats are related to the fact above.

They remind that at the very beginning the case is under the control of the President and certain forces are trying to prevent the disclosure of the truth.

The authors of the appeal claim that the attack on journalist Mammadova is "an attack on freedom of speech and press". "The knife piercing her throat is a knife piercing the throat of all journalists. For this reason we demand from the President and the law enforcement agencies that the perpetrators and those responsible for this crime be found and punished as soon as possible, so that all journalists are safe and can carry out their professional activities freely", reads the conclusion of the appeal.

It was signed by journalists Shamshad Aga, Kyamran Mahmudov, Aygun Elgunesh,

Mehman Aliyev, activists Rufat Safarov, Zaur Akper, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Zafar Ahmedov.

The petition is open for signing.

Apart from I.Aliyev, the petition is also addressed to Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov, SSB chief Ali Nagiyev and Prosecutor General Kyamran Aliyev.

Freelance journalist Ayten Mammadova was attacked by an unknown person in the lift of the house she lives in late evening of May 8.

The unknown man held a knife to her throat and threatened and insulted her daughter as saying that Mammadova had already been warned. 

Mammadova stated that 20 days ago she had been threatened by telephone and demanded to stop publishing materials about the trial of a high-profile case on the murder of a minor girl in the Tovuz region. -0-