IRFS correspondents in Nakhchivan, Hakimeldostu Mehdiyev and Elman Abbasov, faced pressure in Nakhchivan Airport while traveling to Baku for participation in training course on “Reporting on the Internet Governance Forum”, organized by Deutsche Welle and Expression Online Initiative, Hakimeldostu Mehdiyev told the IRFS.
The two journalists arrived at the Nakhchivan airport at 10:00pm on August 22 and lined up as other passengers to check in for their flight. However they were denied registration: “A young person, presenting himself as a security guard of the airport, approached us and said that our flight was canceled. But seeing other passengers registered, we tried to find out the reason why we were stopped. At this point a number of security employees attacked and assaulted us”.
Mehdiyev says they were not provided with the reasons for the cancellation of their flight. The journalists were allowed on the next flight t to Baku on August 23, at 4:00am.
Note that, the flight tickets for IRFS correspondents were purchased on August 22, 2012 at the ticket office of “Silk Way Travel” company, located on 84 Nizami Street, Baku. According to the tickets, their flight should have taken off at 12:01am, August 23.Two correspondents arrived at the airport two hours before the scheduled time, however were told that their flight had been canceled. They were not told the reasons for the cancellation. Mehdiyev and Abbasov had to wait for almost 5 hours and at 04:00am they took off. They safely landed in Baku at 05:00am. The IRFS has sent an inquiry to the “Silk Way Travel” company to find out the reasons for the problems that IRFS correspondents faced in Nakhchivan.
Mehdiyev says they were not provided with the reasons for the cancellation of their flight. The journalists were allowed on the next flight t to Baku on August 23, at 4:00am.
Note that, the flight tickets for IRFS correspondents were purchased on August 22, 2012 at the ticket office of “Silk Way Travel” company, located on 84 Nizami Street, Baku. According to the tickets, their flight should have taken off at 12:01am, August 23.Two correspondents arrived at the airport two hours before the scheduled time, however were told that their flight had been canceled. They were not told the reasons for the cancellation. Mehdiyev and Abbasov had to wait for almost 5 hours and at 04:00am they took off. They safely landed in Baku at 05:00am. The IRFS has sent an inquiry to the “Silk Way Travel” company to find out the reasons for the problems that IRFS correspondents faced in Nakhchivan.