Baku police have arrested at least six journalists from Meydan TV, the independent media outlet reported in a statement on Friday.
Meydan TV lost contact with the following staff members around 1:00 p.m. Baku time, and later learned that they are being held at the Baku City Police Department:
- Khayala Agayeva
- Aytaj Ahmadova (Tapdig)
- Aynur Ganbarova (Elgunesh)
- Ramin Jabrayilzade (Deko)
- Natig Javadl
- Aysel Umudova
Law enforcement officials also searched some of the journalists’ homes, seizing some of their belongings and personal equipment, Meydan TV said.
The arrests were reportedly carried out on charges of illegal currency smuggling, which Meydan TV rejects. “We, as the management of Meydan TV, firmly state that the detention and interrogation of our journalists is illegal, and we refute all accusations,” the statement said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists also condemned the arrests and called for the journalists’ immediate release. “Azerbaijani authorities should immediately release Natig Javadli, Khayala Aghayeva, Aytaj Tapdig, Aynur Elgunesh, Aysel Umudova, and Ramin Deko, along with more than a dozen other leading journalists arrested on retaliatory charges in recent months, and end their unprecedented assault on the independent press,” Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a statement.
According to CPJ, Azerbaijani authorities have charged at least 15 journalists with major criminal offenses in retaliation for their work over the last year.
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