Organizers of a protest against attacks on journalists in Azerbaijan report receiving threats

A father of Rufat Safarov, the head of the “Line of Defence” NGO, one of the organizers of the rally demanding an end to violence against activists and journalists, received threats of his son’s arrest if he joined the rally.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 9, the Azerbaijani Police launched an inquiry into the attack on the journalist, Aiten Mamedova. The incident occurred in the Binagadi District of Baku. The man, who followed Ms Mamedova into the elevator of the building, put a knife to her throat and demanded not to cover a certain trial, after which he disappeared, the victim said, linking the attack with her coverage of a high-profile case of a child murder.

After the attack on journalist Aiten Mamedova on May 8, a group of activists decided to hold a protest action demanding an end to acts of violence against activists and journalists, Rufat Safarov informed the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

The protest action is planned to be held at 3:00 p.m. on May 14 with a march from Fountains Square to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

According to Rufat Safarov, on May 13, his father received threats in connection with the protest actions. “Today, my father Eldar Sabiroglu has got a phone call from the presidential administration of Azerbaijan on behalf of a top-ranking official. My father was threatened that if I went to the rally, I would be detained and arrested for a long time,” Rufat Safarov said. According to the human rights defender, other members of the organizing committee are also under pressure.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 13, 2022 at 07:29 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.