IRFS: responsibility for Novruzali Mamedov's death is on Azerbaijani authorities

The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) of Azerbaijan has made the statement, in which it imposed the political responsibility for the death on August 17 in custody of Novruzali Mamedov, head of the Talysh Cultural Centre and editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of Talysh), on the authorities of the country.

"The state of health of Novruzali Mamedov, 68, became worse back on January 18, 2009, when in Colony No. 15 he was unreasonably placed into a dungeon," Emin Guseinov, director the IRFS, said in his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, making comments on the above statement.

In spite of the judicial decision passed in March on Mamedov's urgent transfer to the prison hospital, the colony administration ignored it. Only on July 28, when his health condition sharply worsened, Mamedov was placed into the medical establishment, the IRFS director has emphasized.

All the requests of international figures on placing Mamedov into civil hospital and inviting foreign doctors were ignored.

The IRFS believes that Novruzali Mamedov was convicted on political grounds.

The statement of the IRFS notes that "Novruzali Mamedov's death in custody evidences a real threat to life of the journalists and bloggers imprisoned in Azerbaijan."

The IRFS regards the actions of the country leaders as "terror against the freedom of expression" and demands from the authorities to stop persecuting people "for their political dissidence and immediately release the arrested journalists Ganimat Zakhidov, Einullah Fatullaev and Mushvig Guseinov, and bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Gadjizade."

In his turn, Eldar Sultanov, head of the press service of the State Office of Public Prosecutor, said, while making comments on the critical statements on occasion of Novruzali Mamedov's death, that "the Nizami District Prosecutor's Office of Baku is conducting a complete, comprehensive and objective investigation into the circumstances of Novruzali Mamedov's death."