The Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety is concerned about two recent events in which acts of violence were committed against journalists.
On 12 December Garabagh Liberation Organization (GLO) Chairman Akif Nagi and several other people came to the editorial office of “Yeni Musavat” Newspaper, and used violence against columnist Zamin Haji. Nagi was upset by the article “Dialogue of two deaf people,” published in the 12 December issue of “Yeni Musavat.” In the article, Haji referred to Nagi as “aka,” which means brother in Uzbek. At the editorial office, Nagi and his accomplices insulted Haji and punched him the face, breaking the journalist’s glasses.
In addition to this, on 1 December, during the program “El Ichinda,” which is broadcast on ATV, ANS Press correspondent Vugar Kamiloglu was punched by singer Vasif Maharramli. This occurred while the program was being filmed, when Kamiloglu asked Maharramli who funded the production of his last music video.
IRFS considers both of these incidents completely unacceptable and calls on law enforcement agencies to objectively investigate these two incidents and to bring to responsibility those who used force against Haji and Kamiloglu.