Azernews.Az

BAKU – Europe’s main security and rights body has condemned a recent assault on an Azerbaijani newspaper columnist and called on the government in Baku to curtail violence against journalists.

Dunja Mijatovic, the media freedom representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), described the weekend attack on Seymur Haziyev as "inadmissible."

"Azerbaijan’s authorities must take pro-active measures to prevent violence against the media," Mijatovic said. "Ensuring a safe and free environment for journalists is a key OSCE commitment and I must regretfully state that the government of Azerbaijan has so far failed to meet this requirement."

On the night of Saturday six masked individuals abducted Seymur Haziyev, a reporter with the opposition Azadliq newspaper, in a village near Baku. They reportedly put a sack on his head, beat him up and threatened him with worse violence if he continued to write critically about the government policies.

One of Azerbaijan’s main printed media outlets, Azadliq has been the target of repeated attacks and other forms of intimidation in the past, including imprisonment of staffers and contributors. Haziyev himself has been threatened and physically assaulted several times in recent years.

In her statement, Mijatovic urged public condemnation of such attacks and prosecution by Azerbaijani authorities of those responsible.