Journalist Mamedova reports details of an attack on her in Baku

A man who attacked freelance journalist Aiten Mamedova with a knife voiced threats against her and her daughter, the victim said. She associates the attack with her coverage of a case on the murder of a child which provoked a wide public outcry.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the incident took place in the Binagadi District of Baku. The man, who followed Aiten Mamedova into a lift at the entrance of the house, put a knife to her throat, demanded not to cover a certain trial, and then he fled.

Today, freelance journalist Aiten Mamedova has told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent about the details of the incident. According to the journalist, late in the evening of May 8, she was returning home from a friend.

“I got out of the taxi, entered the house, and then got into the lift. A man followed me. As soon as the lift door closed, the man suddenly grabbed my jaw with one hand and put a knife to my throat with his other hand, making a cut. He removed the knife and then put it to my throat again. At the same time, he began to express insults and threats against my young daughter. When the lift reached my floor, the attacker let me out,” Aiten Mamedova said.

The journalist believes that the attack on her is related to her professional activities. “Although the man did not voice specific reasons for his attack, I have no doubt that the incident is related to the case on the murder of a young girl in the Tovuz District,” Aiten Mamedova noted.

A ten-year-old girl went missing on November 21, 2019. On January 6, 2020, her charred body was found in the same village where she lived. On January 10, the police reported about the detention of a man suspected of the murder – 47-year-old local resident Ilkin Suleimanov, who was the first to report the discovery of the girl’s body.

Aiten Mamedova explained that about 20 days ago she got a threatening call on her home phone related to the murder case. “Because I am one of the journalists who has been the most actively covering the topic lately. This is a very resonant and very mysterious incident,” the journalist said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 9, 2022 at 12:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.