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Family members of Azerbaijani journalist Rauf Mirkadyrov who was detained on April 18 in Ankara, received official notification yesterday from the court saying that he was granted political asylum in Switzerland, "Caucasian Knot" reports.

As noted in the article, the Bern court considered on December 17 the case on the status of family members of Rauf Mirkadirov. The court heard Mirkadirov‘s wife Adel Babakhanova and their elder daughter Souad. Azerbaijani news agency "Turan", in its turn, adds that there were also documents that have been provided by international human rights organizations and relevant agencies in Switzerland.

Rauf Mirkadirov, columnist of Azerbaijani newspaper "Zerkalo", was arrested on April 18 in Ankara on charges of expiration of documents. On April 19 Mirkadirov was deported to Azerbaijan, where he immediately was arrested and put in custody by the MNS on suspicion of treason. On April 21 the court in Baku sanctioned his arrest for three months. Mirkadirov is accused of the cooperation with special services of Armenia; specifically he is accused of making the transfers of the state secret information, including those about the dislocation of Azerbaijani Armed forces to Armenia during 2008-2009.