Parviz Gashimli is persecuted for political reasons, Azerbaijani rights defenders assert

The criminal charges against Parviz Gashimli were fabricated and politically motivated, his relatives and human rights activists are confident. In their opinion, Gashimli, a journalist of the newspaper "Bizim Yol" (Our Way), is persecuted for his journalistic and political activities; while Gashimli himself could fall victim to the hidden struggle of various groups within the authorities.

"Parviz was involved in active journalistic, human rights and political activities. Publication of certain information, extracted by him from his sources, formed an opinion about a split among the ruling elites, which was disliked by the authorities in general," Emin Guseinov, the Director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Kyamran Gashimli, the journalist's father, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the Ministry of National Security (MNS) tried to retrieve from his son testimonies against certain high-ranking officials.

"My son is a victim of intrigues among officials who keep the power. Someone is struggling with someone, but why should my son suffer?" said Kyamran Gashimli.

However, he refused to specify the name of the person who offered his son to evidence against senior officials, as well as the names of these officials.