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Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned Azerbaijani journalist, a reporter for the embattled opposition newspaper “Azadliq” and the technical director of "Azerbaijani Hour" Khalid Garayev’s arrest and called on authorities to release the journalist. The statement is published in the site of the organization.

"The Azerbaijani government is working hard to cement its membership in the club of the world's worst jailers of journalists. We call on authorities to release Khalid Garayev on appeal and stop trying to silence journalists and critics of the government," said Muzaffar Suleymanov, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia researcher.

According to the statement, a court in Azerbaijan today sentenced Khalid Garayev to almost a month in prison on charges of hooliganism and disobeying the police.

Garayev denied both charges and said they were fabricated and that he was being jailed in retaliation for his journalistic work.

It's noted in the statement that the online TV show, "Azerbaijani Hour," which is critical of the government, has been targeted by authorities in recent months. In August, authorities arrested Seymur Hazi, the lead anchor of the program, on hooliganism charges. The same month, the brother of another "Azerbaijani Hour" anchor, Natiq Adilov, was arrested on trumped-up drug charges, which Adilov said was in retaliation for his own journalistic work.

In recent years, public officials and their supporters have targeted the “Azadliq” newspaper as well.