Urgent Action: Independent News Director Detained (Azerbaijan: UA 200.17)

Mehman Aliyev, the director of independent news agency Turan, has been arbitrarily detained since 24 August on what appears to be trumped up charges of tax evasion and other offenses in retaliation for his work as a critical journalist. The charges against him follow the same pattern used to silence government critics in Azerbaijan in recent years.

1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:

Lift the house arrest on Mehman Aliyev immediately and drop all charges as they appear to be politically motivated and because of serious violations of fair trial standards during his arrest and arbitrary detention;
Fully respect the right to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan, which involves ensuring human rights defenders and journalists can carry out their legitimate activities free of harassment and without fear of reprisals.

Contact the below officials by 11 October, 2017:

President Ilham Aliyev
Office of the President of Azerbaijan
19 Istiqlaliyyat Street
Baku AZ1066, Azerbaijan
Fax: + 994 12 492 0625
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Dear President

Ambassador H.E. Elin Suleymanov
Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan
2741 34th Street NW, Washington DC 20008
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Dear Ambassador

2) LET US KNOW YOU TOOK ACTION
Click here to let us know if you took action on this case! This is Urgent Action 200.17
Here’s why it is so important to report your actions: we record the actions taken on each case—letters, emails, calls and tweets—and use that information in our advocacy.

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