12 April 2019, 17:06
Mekhman Guseinov managed to leave Azerbaijan
Mekhman Guseinov, an Azerbaijani blogger and the chairman of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), has managed to go abroad to participate in international events. Last night, he flew to Europe.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 9, Mekhman Guseinov could not leave the country, as the authorities forbade him to leave Azerbaijan. On April 10, Arlem Dezir, the OSCE's Representative on the Freedom of Media, condemned the ban on Guseinov's travels abroad and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to lift it.
On March 3, 2017, Mekhman Guseinov was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of defamation; his complaints about torture after detention were treated by the court as defamation. On March 2, 2019, the blogger was released from prison.
Today, Mekhman Guseinov wrote in his Facebook page that he left Baku at night. "Finally, we were released from being hostages. Why had the General Prosecutor's Office imposed a ban on my travels abroad? We still have no answer to this question. But after its publicity, the problem was solved. Finally, nine years later, the doors of Baku Airport were open for me," says Guseinov's post.
According to the blogger, at international events he intends to tell about "problems with the media freedom in Azerbaijan, a depressing situation with human rights, the problem of political prisoners and other issues related to the violation of fundamental freedoms."
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 12, 2019 at 02:49 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
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