Azerbaijan: hackneyed journalist accuses police of passiveness

Zulfagar Heyirkhabar, a reporter of the news agency "Salamnews", who was beaten yesterday, on February 18, when he was making a report in Baku about gas explosion in cafe "Karvan", told about the details of the incident at today's press conference held in the office of the Institute of Reporter's Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

According to the journalist, in the place of the incident he received a permit from the police to approach the cafe. However, at the entrance, he was roughly stopped with the owner of the cafe - Zaur Kafarov. Having learnt that Heyirkhabar is a journalist, Kafarov obscenely swore at him; then, an employee of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) went out of the premise and pushed the reporter away. A young man who was standing nearby unexpectedly attacked the journalist and kicked him with his head. All this happened in the eyes of policemen, who did not interfere and did not stop the violence. The attacker was a brother of the MfE employee who had pushed the journalist away.

Then, the victim was brought to Police Station No. 9 of the Sabail District Police Division. There, an inspector, according to the journalist, treated Heyirkhabar not as a victim but as a criminal.

According to Heyirkhabar, so far, the police have not detained anyone on the fact of his beating. The journalist said that if the police fail to investigate his beating, he would go to court.

The rights of the journalist will be defended by the Institute of Media Rights (IMR), which is ready to provide him with an advocate.

To the question of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent whether the actions of the journalist can be treated as a violation of the law in view of the last week's amendments to the law that nobody can be photographed or videoed without his or her permit, Khalid Agaliev, a representative of the IMR, answered in the negative. "Firstly, these amendments haven't been signed by the President and, thus, have not come into force. Secondly, the journalist was filming not a family celebration, but an accident that had stirred up the whole city. Therefore, his actions can't be qualified as an intrusion into one's personal or family life," said Mr Agaliev.

Police Station No. 9 of the Sabail District refused to make any comments, having recommended addressing the press service of the MIA. There, in their turn, they said that they had "no detailed information" about the incident.