Azerbaijan’s security service detains researcher-freelance journalist
Detainee reportedly facing treason charge.
Aug 22, 2024
(Photo: Bahruz Samadov/Facebook)
An Azerbaijani researcher and freelance journalist, Bahruz Samadov, has reportedly been detained in Baku on suspicion of engaging in anti-state activities.
Samadov, a contributor to a variety of media outlets including Eurasianet, was last heard from in the late afternoon of August 21. Friends and relatives say that he was taken into custody by representatives of Azerbaijan’s security service. RFE/RL reported that a public defender phoned Samadov’s grandmother in Baku, informing her that her grandson “is being accused of treason.”
Rights activists have linked Samadov’s detention to an ongoing crackdown carried out by the Azerbaijani government to silence opposition politicians and independent journalists.
“We’re concerned about the detention of Bahruz Samadov whom the Azerbaijani authorities have accused of treason,” Gulnoza Said, the Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement given to Eurasianet.
“The critical reports and penetrating analysis that Samadov has been known for does not equate treason, and the authorities must either produce evidence of their allegations, or let Samadov free,” Said continued. “Azerbaijan has cracked down on independent media in recent months and has currently a record high number of journalists in detention for doing their job.”
Samadov is a doctoral student at CharlesUniversity in Prague. He has also been a frequent analyst for a wide variety of print and broadcast outlets, offering unvarnished analysis on current affairs, including the conduct of Azerbaijan’s campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh. No Azerbaijani government agency has as of late August 22 confirmed that Samadov is in custody, and, if so, what the reason for his detention is.
“News of Bahruz Samadov’s arrest is alarming, given the deepening suppression of independent voices in Azerbaijan,” said Eurasianet’s board chair, Jeffrey Trimble. “Azerbaijani authorities should substantiate in a transparent and timely manner their reason for taking Bahruz into custody, or let him go free. We will be closely monitoring his case.”
EU condemns Azerbaijan crackdown after peace activist charged with ‘treason’
Bahruz Samadov was detained just months before the South Caucasus country hosts critical U.N. climate talks.
An Azerbaijani researcher and freelance journalist, Bahruz Samadov, has reportedly been detained in Baku on suspicion of engaging in anti-state activities.
Samadov, a contributor to a variety of media outlets including Eurasianet, was last heard from in the late afternoon of August 21. Friends and relatives say that he was taken into custody by representatives of Azerbaijan’s security service. RFE/RL reported that a public defender phoned Samadov’s grandmother in Baku, informing her that her grandson “is being accused of treason.”
Rights activists have linked Samadov’s detention to an ongoing crackdown carried out by the Azerbaijani government to silence opposition politicians and independent journalists.
“We’re concerned about the detention of Bahruz Samadov whom the Azerbaijani authorities have accused of treason,” Gulnoza Said, the Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement given to Eurasianet.
“The critical reports and penetrating analysis that Samadov has been known for does not equate treason, and the authorities must either produce evidence of their allegations, or let Samadov free,” Said continued. “Azerbaijan has cracked down on independent media in recent months and has currently a record high number of journalists in detention for doing their job.”
Samadov is a doctoral student at CharlesUniversity in Prague. He has also been a frequent analyst for a wide variety of print and broadcast outlets, offering unvarnished analysis on current affairs, including the conduct of Azerbaijan’s campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh. No Azerbaijani government agency has as of late August 22 confirmed that Samadov is in custody, and, if so, what the reason for his detention is.
“News of Bahruz Samadov’s arrest is alarming, given the deepening suppression of independent voices in Azerbaijan,” said Eurasianet’s board chair, Jeffrey Trimble. “Azerbaijani authorities should substantiate in a transparent and timely manner their reason for taking Bahruz into custody, or let him go free. We will be closely monitoring his case.”
EU condemns Azerbaijan crackdown after peace activist charged with ‘treason’
Bahruz Samadov was detained just months before the South Caucasus country hosts critical U.N. climate talks.
"We reiterate our call on Azerbaijan to release all those detained for exercising their fundamental rights." Peter Stano said.| Tofik Babayev/AFP via Getty Images
August 23, 2024
By Gabriel Gavin
The EU has called on Azerbaijan to respect the rights of a prominent scholar jailed after publicly criticizing the government, amid a wave of arrests that has seen journalists and academics put behind bars.
Speaking to POLITICO, Peter Stano, the EU's foreign affairs spokesperson, said Brussels was "following with concern" the case of Bahruz Samadov, "a young scholar advocating for peace in the South Caucasus" and a doctoral student at Charles University in Prague.
Azerbaijan maintains close relations with the EU and in 2022 signed a deal to step up exports of natural gas to help the bloc reduce its dependence on Russia. Later this year, it will host the COP29 U.N. climate talks, which it has said it wants to make a "COP of peace."
Samadov was detained earlier this week and appeared Friday before a court in Baku to be charged with "treason." If convicted, he could face life in prison, and has reportedly stated he intends to begin a hunger strike after being handed four months of pre-trial detention.
"His case adds to the worrying and growing number of detentions of independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society representatives since late last year," said Stano.
"We reiterate our call on Azerbaijan to release all those detained for exercising their fundamental rights. We also call on Azerbaijan to ensure transparency and due process, as well as dignified and safe conditions for all those detained, including their full access to health and independent legal services," he added.
According to Samadov's family, he was arrested when security services raided their home on Wednesday. The 28-year-old had been critical of Azerbaijan's authoritarian government and sought to build bridges with activists in neighboring Armenia, with which Baku fought a war in 2020.
Freedom House has warned Azerbaijan lacks an independent judiciary, which "is evident in the many trumped-up or otherwise flawed cases brought against opposition figures, activists, and critical journalists." Dozens of civil society figures have faced disputed charges in recent months.
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