The sale of “24 Saat” Newspaper has been banned in Lankaran.
“24 Saat” Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Ilham Tumas told this to the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety.
According to Tumas, it has been 20 days that the newspaper is not sold in Lankaran. “The Lankaran department head of ‘Azerpocht’ Jamal Hajiyev hinders the sale of the newspaper by buying all of them. This stems from articles published in our newspaper about Lankaran. I think, this order comes directly from the Executive Power; because Jamal Hajiyev doesn’t have this authority,” said Ilham Tumas.
According to Tumas, it has been 20 days that the newspaper is not sold in Lankaran. “The Lankaran department head of ‘Azerpocht’ Jamal Hajiyev hinders the sale of the newspaper by buying all of them. This stems from articles published in our newspaper about Lankaran. I think, this order comes directly from the Executive Power; because Jamal Hajiyev doesn’t have this authority,” said Ilham Tumas.
IRFS spoke to Hajiyev about this matter. He said, “I don’t know this newspaper at all. I have works to do, not to collect the newspapers by buying all of them. This talk is completely unsubstantiated.”
As a result of an investigation carried out by a source of IRFS in Lankaran it was cleared that there are problems associated with sale of several newspapers, not just with “24 Saat”. “For instance, there’s no “24 Saat” Newspaper in the booth stalls for sale today either. When something critical about Lankaran is published in any newspaper, the newspaper is not put up for sale and is instead returned to the publication’s editorial office allegedly for not being sold,” the source noted.