Oppositional newspaper editor abducted, beaten

Aidyn Guliev, editor-in-chief of Baki Habar oppositional newspaper, has today held a press conference in connection with his recent abduction. He said four strangers in masks had on July 17 detained him near his house and forced him in a minibus. They were next driving him about the city for two or three hours. In doing so, his abductors taped up his mouth and put a black bag over his head. All that time, the strangers were beating and insulting the editor. They next stopped the vehicle on the outskirts of the city and threw the journalist out to the roadside. Baki Habar is known for severe criticism of the authorities and for calling to fight the ruling regime: this is what the true reason was for the abduction, Aidyn Guliev believes. The editor-in-chief is going to ask for asylum at foreign diplomatic missions.

Azer Hasrat, president of the Journalists Confederation, called the beating of the journalist an outrageous crime. "I am confident this incident with Aidyn Guliev, too, has been contracted for by the authorities, so I call on all international journalist organizations to draw attention to this fact and protect Azerbaijani journalists from abuse of power on the part of the government," Hasrat concluded.