Family of Azerbaijani writer Rafiq Tagi calls on to resume investigation into his murder

Family members of Azerbaijani writer Rafiq Tagi appealed to President Ilham Aliev and General Prosecutor Kyamran Aliev with a request to resume the investigation into the writer's murder. According to the Rafiq Tagi's family members, the investigation was superficial and did not even identify any suspects.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Rafiq Tagi was wounded in Baku on November 19, 2011, and he died several days later. In June 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) requested the authorities of Azerbaijan to submit the information concerning two Rafiq Tagi's cases, including a complaint that his murder was not being investigated.

Emin Guseinov, the director of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), noted that crimes against journalists remain unpunished in Azerbaijan.

"The countdown of crimes against journalists began in March 2005, when Elmar Guseinov, the editor-in-chief of the edition 'Monitor', was murdered. The fact that the murderers were not punished led to a series of attacks on journalists," Emin Guseinov noted.

Khalid Agaliev, a lawyer at the Media Rights Institute (MRI), emphasized that in late 2019, the ECtHR had already granted a complaint in one of the Rafiq Tagi's cases and recognized a violation of the writer's freedom of expression.