The mother of the arrested journalist faces a ban on leaving Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani authorities have banned Dilruba Amanova, the mother of arrested Meydan TV journalist Aytaj Tapdyg, from leaving the country. The woman was twice prevented from leaving Azerbaijan, although after the first attempt, security officials assured her that the ban had been lifted.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in February, Meydan TV journalists Aytaj Tapdyg (Akhmedova), Aysel Umudova, and Khayala Agayeva demanded an investigation into the violence against them in the Baku pretrial detention center and punishment for the security forces. In April, the Azerbaijani Penitentiary Service responded to a complaint from Aytaj Tapdyg's relatives, stating that pretrial detention center staff did not use violence against the journalist.

Aytaj Tapdyg's mother, Dilruba Amanova, first learned of the travel ban imposed on her on April 30. According to the woman, she was planning to fly to Berlin that day to visit her other daughter.

“At the Baku airport, I went through all the procedures for departing passengers and, right at the very end, encountered an obstacle at border and passport control. While I was standing at the window, the border guard received a call and replied, ‘No, I haven’t cleared you yet.’ Then they told me there was a ‘stop’ on my exit from the country, a restriction imposed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, they clarified the details for me,” Amanova told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Subsequently, her lawyer discovered that the restriction was imposed by the Baku City Police Headquarters.

“A few days later, my lawyer was informed that ‘the ban had already been removed from the system.’ After that, I bought another plane ticket to Berlin for May 12th. Unfortunately, I encountered the same thing at the airport: the officer at passport control was again informed about me. And again, they told me they couldn’t let me on the flight because of the ban ‘in the system,’” Amanova noted.

The woman emphasized that she has no tax or credit debts or fines to the state, and is not involved in any criminal cases.

“This restriction is solely related to my daughter Aytaj’s journalistic work. “She herself was arrested on completely false charges, and now my rights are being restricted,” Amanova said.

A citizen whose right to leave the country is restricted must be notified of this in advance, noted legal expert and former member of the Azerbaijan Bar Association Yalchin Imanov.

According to him, under Article 9 of the Migration Code of Azerbaijan, a temporary ban on leaving the country can be applied in criminal cases, in particular when choosing a preventive measure for the accused, imposing a suspended sentence, or imposing correctional labor. Restrictions are also possible in the event of failure to comply with a court sentence, tax obligations, or financial sanctions. In all other cases, the ban is unlawful, the lawyer told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

A "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was unable to obtain comments from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Border Service.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that in April, the European Court of Human Rights sent questions to the Azerbaijani authorities regarding complaints from 16 individuals who claimed they were illegally banned from leaving the country. The complaints were filed by journalists, civil society activists, and experts who are involved in criminal cases as witnesses or suspects.