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Afghan Mukhtarli: Baku's New "Headache"

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The topic of human rights in Azerbaijan again appeared in the center of international attention. The European Parliament calls upon Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release and drop all charges against Afgan Mukhtarli, an investigative journalist exiled in Georgia, from where he was abducted on May 29 and brought to Azerbaijan. He now faces prosecution and possibly a prison sentence of several years "following bogus charges", MEPs said, the official website of the European Parliament reports.

Azerbaijani authorities should end the selective criminal prosecution and imprisonment of journalists and human rights defenders, immediately release all political prisoners, and ensure compliance with fair trial norms, MEPs stress in a resolution adopted on Thursday.

Parliament also urged the Georgian authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of Mukhtarli’s disappearance and to clarify "beyond any doubt all suspicion regarding the involvement of Georgian state agents".

It should be noted that Baku's response to this resolution did not come late. Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, described this resolution, like other resolutions on the violations of human rights in Azerbaijan, as biased and fabricated. Zayfet Askerov, the first Vice-Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament in his turn noted that the European Parliament's resolution might have a negative impact on bilateral relations.

It is obvious that Baku is going to complete the case of Mukhtarli. As a result of the continuing repression in Azerbaijan voices of independent journalism has been silenced in the recent years (according to the report of "Reporters without Borders" 2017 on press freedom index, Azerbaijan ranks 162th among 180 countries). However, the criticism of the Azerbaijani authorities continues by media operating abroad. With the case of Mukhtarli Baku is trying to make Azerbaijani media operating abroad understand that they are not so unavailable for Aliyev's authoritarian regime.

 

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