BAKU (Reuters) – Azerbaijani police arrested one journalist and ordered pre-trial detention for another on Monday, the latest reporters to face legal trouble since a crackdown on the country’s independent media began in November.
The organisation Reporters without Borders (RSF) places Azerbaijan 151st of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index.
Shahin Rzayev, a political observer with JAM News, an outlet that covers Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, was arrested and ordered to be held for 15 days on charges of “petty hooliganism,” according to Azerbaijan’s interior ministry.
Separately, a court in Baku ordered Elnara Gasimova, a reporter with the Abzas Media investigative news site, to be held in pre-trial detention until April 3 on charges of smuggling.
She is the sixth Abzas Media reporter to be charged under anti-smuggling laws since November. At the time, police said they had found 40,000 euros ($44,000) in cash in the outlet’s Baku offices.
In November, Azerbaijani police arrested Aziz Orujev, head of the Kanal 13 online video channel, and later charged him with smuggling.
International press freedom groups have demanded the release of the Abzas Media staff, describing the arrests as an attempt to silence their anti-corruption reporting.
Azerbaijan is holding early presidential elections next month, with incumbent Ilham Aliyev widely expected to win.
(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Felix Light in Tbilisi; Editing by Mark Porter)
