In Azerbaijan, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of "Yeni Musavat" complains of receiving threats

Azer Aikhan, First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Azerbaijani opposition newspaper "Yeni Musavat", claims receiving during three days the demands to stop publishing critical articles about Elmar Veliev, the head of the executive authorities of the city of Gandzha, and threats of physical violence.

Starting from 09:00 p.m., May 12, Azer Aikhan began to receive phone calls and SMS-messages from three phone numbers. During 15-16 hours, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper "Yeni Musavat" received threats of physical violence if his paper "would not leave Elmar Veliev along". This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Azer Aikhan himself.

"I and other editorial staff were verbally abused and threatened with death. In that regard, in the afternoon of May 13, I sent appeals to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and Ramil Usubov, Minister of Internal Affairs, asking them to find and punish those persons, who threatened me and my colleagues, and those persons who is pulling strings," Azer Aikhan said.

The appeal made by Azer Akhan actually came to the law enforcement bodies. This was acknowledged to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Orkhan Mansurzade, the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). According to his story, the MIA has issued the instructions to the relevant institutions to carry out the investigation.

According to Azer Aikhan's story, in the evening of May 13, he was phoned by an assistant of Elmar Veliev, who reported that the executive authorities of the city of Gandzha "had conducted their own investigation."

"A person who called from one of the phone numbers was an internally displaced person from the Kelbadjar District. He allegedly told the assistant of the city head that he was "disappointed by unfair criticism" of Elmar Veliev and, being in emotional agitation, he chose such a way to express his indignation," Azer Aikhan has continued.

The Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper "Yeni Musavat" says that he cannot be satisfied with such an explanation. "Internally displaced persons can barely make both ends meet, and they have not enough money to buy and read newspapers, and, furthermore, to express their indignation about criticism with regard to any official. On the other hand, how a refugee could get the number of my mobile phone?"