IRFS urges Azerbaijani authorities to stop persecution of activists abroad

Amid threats against Azerbaijani bloggers in Europe, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) called on the Azerbaijan’s authorities to “stop the illegal persecution of their critics.” The IRFS also pointed to a new assassination attempt on blogger Muhammad Mirzali.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on March 14, 2021, opposition Azerbaijani blogger Muhammad Mirzali was attacked in France by an unknown person who stabbed him several times. Human rights defenders blamed the Azerbaijan’s authorities of organizing the attack and complained about a series of similar incidents.

Another assassination attempt on Muhammad Mirzali was committed in France on June 14, the Azerbaijani Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) reported.

The IRFS states that all the assassination attempts have been organized by “top-ranking officials from the ruling elite of Azerbaijan, who consider themselves offended by the blogger’s posts” in his social media.

“Thus, in April, Manaf Djalilzade, a blogger living in Switzerland, was severely beaten, and he was demanded to stop criticizing the authorities and publicly apologize in front of a camera,” the IRFS emphasized in its statement.

Furthermore, during the past two weeks, in Germany, unidentified people have been following bloggers Tural Sadygly and Orkhan Agaev, states Emin Guseinov, the executive director of the IRFS.