23:17, 16 January 2007

Azerbaijan releases the arrested editor of Internet-edition

The Appellate Court of Azerbaijan has changed the restriction measure (arrest) in relation to Bakhtiyar Gadzhiev, creator of the Internet web-site susmayaq.biz. We note here that Mr. Gadzhiev was detained by the police in his own home on January 13 and brought to the police station. Then, the Narimanovskiy Court awarded 12 days of arrest to him "for resisting police." However, a real reason of his arrest was an appeal to hold protest actions against price growth placed in the web-site susmayaq.biz.

Meanwhile, the "Reporters without Borders" Organization for Defence of the Press has condemned the arrest of Bakhtiyar Gadzhiev.

"The arrest of a journalist of a web-site resource, same as censorship of the web-site, is a very bad sign," the press release of the Organization runs.

"We hope that the attack on the freedom of expression in the Internet in Azerbaijan is a temporary phenomenon, and the authorities do not intend to take more repressive measures," the document marks.