Journalists demand to investigate actions of Azerbaijani police

The Azerbaijani Prosecutor's Office (PO) has issued a warning of non-compliance with the professional ethics to four journalists because of their participation in the action on February 11. In protest, journalists have torn the PO's notifications into pieces and demanded to investigate the actions of the policemen who interfered with their work.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, journalists were subjected to policemen's violence, when the latter dispersed the action held by oppositional candidates in Baku. Seven journalists were detained and beaten up, the organization "Reporters Without Borders" (RWB) has stated.

On February 14, four journalists – Nurlan Djafari, Nurlan Libre, Rafael Guseinzade and Avaz Khafizli – were summoned to the Baku PO. "We were accused of committing 'actions that are contrary to journalists' professional activities and ethics, and illegally interfered in policemen's actions'," Avaz Khafizli has explained.

Khalid Agaliev, an employee of the Institute of Media Rights, believes that there were no grounds for PO's warnings to journalists. "The PO should investigate the fact of violence against journalists, since at least 10 people suffered; and it caused a reaction of international organizations – calls were made to investigate law enforcers' actions," he has noted.