(JuHI/IFEX) – On 5 October 2000, the editor-in-chief of the leading opposition newspaper “Yeni Musavat”, Rauf Arifoglu, was released from the investigative prison where he was being held. Arifoglu was accused of attempting to hijack a plane, possession of firearms, terrorism and calling for a coup. He was arrested on 22 August, after Mehdi Husseynli, […]
(JuHI/IFEX) – On 5 October 2000, the editor-in-chief of the leading opposition newspaper “Yeni Musavat”, Rauf Arifoglu, was released from the investigative prison where he was being held. Arifoglu was accused of attempting to hijack a plane, possession of firearms, terrorism and calling for a coup. He was arrested on 22 August, after Mehdi Husseynli, a member of the opposition Musavat Party from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, called him by phone to dictate his demands. Husseynli had attempted to hijack a plane. Subsequently, Arifoglu was arrested and put under investigation.
Arifoglu was released as the result of pressure from the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and international journalists’ and human rights organisations. The United States State Department also intervened in the matter.