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Popular Azerbaijani artist Mayis Agabeyov, father-in-law of the Azerbaijani opposition blogger and manager of the online media outlet Meydan TV Emin Milli, sent an appeal to the Azerbaijani president with regard to his son Nazim Agabeyov’s arrest, Modern.az reports.

According to the report, the statement is about his son-in-law Emin Milli’s campaign against the Azerbaijani state, which Agabeyov considers “worthless.” Agabeyov notes in the letter that on July 23, 2015, on the way to work, his son Nazim Agabeyov was taken to Baku police department by “men in civilian outfits,” who put cuffs over his hands. He was charged under the Article 234.4.3 of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan, and the case is being considered by Baku Court on Grave Crimes. According to his father, as a result, they had to cut all the ties with Emin Milli, and there is no logical base for accusing his son of drug traffic.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani news agency Turan reports that according to lawyer Elchin Sadigov, a criminal investigation has been launched in Azerbaijan against the online media outlet Meydan TV, and 15 journalists are sued.

Sadigov noted that on April 18, 2016, the Narimanov district court refused to consider the complaint, which stated that his defendant journalist Shirin Abbasov’s detention in theMain Organized Crime Department, tortures, inhuman treatment against him, search in his apartment, as well as travel ban are illegal. The journalist had collaborated with Meydan TV. It is noted that in September of the last year, Abbasov was arrested for 30 days and was kept in the Main Organized Crime Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

Sadigov also noted that the criminal case had been initiated back in 2015 (most likely in September), when Abbasov was arrested. The Main Organized Crime Department put pressure on him in order to obtain testimony against the Meydan TV executives and colleagues.

It is significant that there are no specific criminal charges against the 15 journalists, however, they are not allowed to leave the country, they faced tax audit, they are regularly interrogated, and some of them faced search and equipment withdrawal. The lawyer, who considers the criminal case far-fetched, does not leave out the possibility that Meydan TV journalists can be arrested, taking into account that criminal cases on similar charges were carried out against dozens of NGOs, and their leaders were convicted.

“As for the reason of filing the criminal case, it is Meydan TV’s investigation into the protests of the population in Mingachevir after a detainee threw himself out of the police department window. Thevideoofthecitizens’ protestseriouslydisturbedtheauthorities. During the interrogations of the journalists, attempts were made to find out who had given them that video, who had ordered to show it, and so on,” the agency informs.

In regard to this situation, Milli stated that Meydan TV has not carried out any illegal activities, the financial reports have been presented to corresponding organs of the country where the online media outlet works, and Meydan TV does not run any business in Azerbaijan. He also called absurd the investigation under articles on illegal entrepreneurship, large-scale tax evasion, etc., as the journalists collaborated with the source only on a voluntary basis.

“Our only ‘crime’ has been the use of our right of freedom of speech,” Milli stated adding that the criminal case aims at frightening the journalists who have collaborated with the source the Azerbaijani authorities intend to ban “putting pressure on the democratic atmosphere.”

In its turn, international human rights organization Index on Censorship strongly condemned the Azerbaijani authorities for the launch of a criminal investigation into online media outlet Meydan TV. 

“Meydan TV and its staff have been ruthlessly targeted by Azerbaijani authorities. The charges invoked against Meydan TV are of similar nature to the charges that were used to send journalists and government critics to prison,” said Index representative Melody Patry adding that this fact confirms the Azerbaijani government has no intention of changing its approach toward independent media and free expression in the country.

The human rights organization said in its statement that the harassment of Meydan TV and its journalists is not new. Besides, it is reminded that in 2013, the independent newspaper Azadliq was forced to stop printing and has teetered on the edge of bankruptcy as well.

Earlier, there were numerous reports over online Meydan TV journalists’ detentions and interrogations in the police in Azerbaijan.  On September 16, the police detained freelance reporter Aytaj Akhmedova and her intern. Shirin Abbasov was sentenced the following day to 30-day administrative detention allegedly for disobeying the police. On September 18, freelance photojournalist Ahmed Mukhtar, whose brother works for Meydan TV, was detained and questioned. The next day three other journalists, Ayten Farhadova, Sevinj Vagifgizi and Izolda Agaeva, were detained upon their arrival at the Baku airport and transported to the police station.

The relatives of the reporters of the online resource are also persecuted. Last October, the Azerbaijani police detained Raja and Vekil Imanovs, the brothers of Gunel Movlud, who works as an editor and columnist for Meydan TV. They were charged with alleged “drug possession.” After this, the journalist’s mother said she renounced her daughter because her sons had been arrested for Movlud’s work for Meydan TV.

Earlier, in June 2015, in an appeal to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, 23 relatives of the director of Meydan TV, Emin Milli, declared they cut ties with him. Emin Milli’s relatives’ desperate step may be connected with June 27 arrest of his wife’s brother, programmer Nazim Agabekov, who was later “found to possess drugs.” This was perceived by many as a form of pressure on the oppositionist blogger.