BAKU, Azerbaijan - Police have opened a criminal case after an APA TV journalist was assaulted while covering a fire in Baku, and a security guard suspected of carrying out the attack has been detained.
The incident occurred overnight from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 in the capital’s Nizami district. APA TV correspondent Sanan Bahramli was reporting on a fire at the premises of a disused meat-processing plant on Davud Aslan Street.
Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry said an investigation found that security guard Heydar Sardarov injured Bahramli and obstructed his professional work. APA Group said the journalist was also verbally abused and that television equipment was damaged.
Police detained Sardarov and opened a criminal case under the relevant provision of the Criminal Code. The investigation is continuing, and a forensic medical examination has been ordered to determine the severity of Bahramli’s injuries.
Media Council Cites Series of Incidents
Azerbaijan’s Media and Broadcasting Council said the recent increase in attacks on journalists working at incident scenes was a cause for serious concern.
The council said such actions threaten the safety of media workers and interfere with the public’s right to receive information about events of public importance.
It cited Article 6 of Azerbaijan’s Law on Media, which prohibits unlawful interference in journalists’ professional activity, as well as pressure and persecution.
APA Group said employees of REAL TV and Space TV had faced similar obstruction while performing their duties in recent days. Law enforcement officers detained suspects in those cases as well.
The council called for journalists to be allowed to work safely and without obstruction and urged authorities to investigate the recent attacks promptly, comprehensively and objectively.
Sources: Vesti Baku; APA.