(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has called on the Azerbaijani authorities to shed light on the way Sakit Mirza Zahidov, a journalist with the opposition daily “Azadlig”, was arrested by interior ministry anti-narcotics agents on the evening of 23 June 2006 and was placed in detention for three months on 24 June by the Nasimi […]
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders has called on the Azerbaijani authorities to shed light on the way Sakit Mirza Zahidov, a journalist with the opposition daily “Azadlig”, was arrested by interior ministry anti-narcotics agents on the evening of 23 June 2006 and was placed in detention for three months on 24 June by the Nasimi regional court on a drug possession charge.
“We are very surprised by the arrest of Sakit Zahidov, an opposition journalist who has been very critical of President Ilham Aliev and his government, and we call on the interior ministry to clarify the circumstances of his detention and to prove that the heroin the police claim to have found on him really was his,” Reporters Without Borders said.
“Azerbaijan’s opposition journalists are often the victims of violence or arbitrary arrests,” the press freedom organisation continued. “Until now, the authorities have shown no sign of any real will to put a stop to the tension, and it cannot be ruled out that this arrest is linked to a policy of cracking down on dissident journalists.”
The police claim Zahidov was found in possession of 10 grammes of heroin, a court-appointed lawyer told his brother, “Azadlig” editor Ganimat Zahidov. But Ganimat Zahidov told Reporters Without Borders his brother denies this, and accuses the police of planting the heroin on him. Other sources confirm he does not take drugs. The interior ministry and local police refuse to comment and no date has been set for his trial, in which he faces three to seven years in prison.
The staff of “Azadlig” said they have decided to set up a committee to support Zahidov and campaign for his release. Representatives of journalists’ and humanitarian organisations will be invited to take part. A delegation tried to visit him on 24 June at the detention centre where he is being held, but was turned away.
Zahidov’s arrest has been condemned as politically-motivated by other opposition journalists such as Rauf Arifoglu, the editor of the “Yeni Musavat” daily, who spent a year and a half in a Baku prison.
Sakit Zahidov writes satirical columns in which he lambastes the government, parliamentarians and religious leaders. His brother Ganimat Zahidov was kidnapped and beaten on 25 February 2005 by unidentified assailants who told him to stop publishing articles that criticised President Aliev or mentioned prison mutinies.
