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Azerbaijan Continues Its Crackdown on Free Expression
The United States is “deeply troubled by the continued arrests of members of Azerbaijani civil society,” said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
He commented at a press briefing after being questioned about the arrest of prominent Azerbaijani economic analyst and journalist Farid Mehralizade.
Mehralizade was detained by police on May 31 in connection with the government’s spurious case against the independent anti-corruption news outlet AbzasMedia. Since November a half dozen journalists from AbzasMedia have been detained by authorities. Other journalists, including several from the online TV Channel Toplum, were arrested earlier this year in a renewed campaign of repression in Azerbaijan targeting independent voices, especially those exposing government corruption.
Ironically, both AbzasMedia, which now operates from outside Azerbaijan, and Farid Mehralizade say he was not employed by AbzasMedia but was one of hundreds of experts contacted by the outlet.
In the U.S. State Department’s most recent human rights report, among “significant human rights abuses” in Azerbaijan, it lists “serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecution of journalists, and enforcement of criminal defamation laws to limit expression.”
State Department Spokesperson Miller said, “Those who exercise their fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, should not face arrest for doing so. We continue to urge the Azerbaijani Government,” he declared, to immediately release all individuals who are unjustly detained and to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all.”