Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan bans Namazov's leaving the country

In Azerbaijan, Abulfat Namazov, a video and photo journalist of the Institute of Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), was not allowed to leave the country. On August 31, he was stopped from going to the United States on a journalism programme.

Namazov is a witness in the criminal case against a number of local and foreign NGOs. He himself told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it.

"Last week I was questioned as a witness and signed a non-disclosure agreement with the investigation. But nothing was said about travel restrictions. On Sunday, August 31, I was going to leave for the United   States under a journalism programme. This trip had been planned long ago; well before the freezing of IRFS' bank accounts and the search and sealing up of the office. But at the airport, when I was passing the border control, I was stopped and told that a ban was introduced on my leaving the country," said Namazov, who is a video and photo journalist of the IRFS.

Gyunai Ismailova, the lawyer of the IRFS, said that the ban was unjustified, since under the legislation a witness cannot be prohibited from leaving the country.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.