Independent Azerbaijani journalist, Ilgar Nasibov, and his family continue receiving threats after he was brutally attacked by unidentified people on 21 August. Azerbaijani journalist and human rights defender Ilgar Nasibov was severely beaten by unidentified people on 21 August as they stormed the office of the Democracy and NGO Development Resource Centre in the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan. Ilgar Nasibov was found unconscious in the ransacked office with severe head trauma and broken bones in his face. Ilgar Nasibov’s family link the attack to his journalism and human rights activism. Threats and harassment toward the couple are not new. On 6 July, Ilgar Nasibov was hit by a car. The couple believe this accident was deliberate and part of the authorities’ attempt to intimidate them. As Malahat Nasibova told Amnesty International, they have always been under regular intimidation because government officials want them to leave the region, as they are “the only remaining independent voices there”. Ilgar Nasibov was also arrested and sentenced to 90 days in prison on 7 December 2007 on charges of “slandering police officers” after he had sent a complaint to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, about police harassment of journalists. Malahat Nasibova was also briefly detained that day and interrogated regarding Ilgar Nasibov and their journalistic work. Even though the authorities reportedly detained one of the assailants of Ilgar Nasibov, they have not initiated a criminal investigation, and the victim has not been given any official information regarding his case. Amnesty International calls on the authorities to immediately, impartially and effectively investigate the attack on Ilgar Nasibov, as well as the ongoing threats and harassment against him and his family and bring those responsible to justice; insisting on full respect for, and protection of, the right to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.
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Oxşar xəbərlərIndependent Azerbaijani journalist, Ilgar Nasibov, and his family continue receiving threats after he was brutally attacked by unidentified people on 21 August. Azerbaijani journalist and human rights defender Ilgar Nasibov was severely beaten by unidentified people on 21 August as they stormed the office of the Democracy and NGO Development Resource Centre in the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan. Ilgar Nasibov was found unconscious in the ransacked office with severe head trauma and broken bones in his face. Ilgar Nasibov’s family link the attack to his journalism and human rights activism. Threats and harassment toward the couple are not new. On 6 July, Ilgar Nasibov was hit by a car. The couple believe this accident was deliberate and part of the authorities’ attempt to intimidate them. As Malahat Nasibova told Amnesty International, they have always been under regular intimidation because government officials want them to leave the region, as they are “the only remaining independent voices there”. Ilgar Nasibov was also arrested and sentenced to 90 days in prison on 7 December 2007 on charges of “slandering police officers” after he had sent a complaint to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, about police harassment of journalists. Malahat Nasibova was also briefly detained that day and interrogated regarding Ilgar Nasibov and their journalistic work. Even though the authorities reportedly detained one of the assailants of Ilgar Nasibov, they have not initiated a criminal investigation, and the victim has not been given any official information regarding his case. Amnesty International calls on the authorities to immediately, impartially and effectively investigate the attack on Ilgar Nasibov, as well as the ongoing threats and harassment against him and his family and bring those responsible to justice; insisting on full respect for, and protection of, the right to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.