Watchdog rep says bid to sully journalist 'a disgrace'
Azerbaijan used shameful methods to silence Azadlig newspaper
reporter Agil Khalil, a representative of the international media
watchdog Reporters Without Borders has claimed.
Elsa Vidal, head of the Europe and former USSR desk at Reporters Without Borders, maintained that the broadcasts of video footage about the journalist concerning his ties to sexual minorities aimed to sully him and divert attention from the pressure he faced.
"The government's attempt to defame any journalist by talking about his contacts with homosexuals is a disgrace.
"Using such methods is unjustifiable. The journalist's being a homosexual or a heterosexual has nothing to do with his work, and this is not debatable. We are aware that the journalist had been threatened and blackmailed," Vidal said.
Khalil was reportedly stabbed in the chest by two unidentified men as he left the editorial office late on March 13. The Prosecutor-General's Office on Monday issued a statement on the outcomes of the investigation into Khalil’s case, saying he had been attacked by a homosexual in a jealousy outburst.
Elsa Vidal, head of the Europe and former USSR desk at Reporters Without Borders, maintained that the broadcasts of video footage about the journalist concerning his ties to sexual minorities aimed to sully him and divert attention from the pressure he faced.
"The government's attempt to defame any journalist by talking about his contacts with homosexuals is a disgrace.
"Using such methods is unjustifiable. The journalist's being a homosexual or a heterosexual has nothing to do with his work, and this is not debatable. We are aware that the journalist had been threatened and blackmailed," Vidal said.
Khalil was reportedly stabbed in the chest by two unidentified men as he left the editorial office late on March 13. The Prosecutor-General's Office on Monday issued a statement on the outcomes of the investigation into Khalil’s case, saying he had been attacked by a homosexual in a jealousy outburst.
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