Azernews.Az

An Azerbaijani presidential aide has said writer and newspaper columnist Rafiq Tagi who has died after being stabbed in Baku "was not someone who had a problem with the authorities".

"Rafiq Tagi was never in conflict with the authorities, with state bodies over journalism or any other activity," Ali Hasanov told Mediaforum website.

Asked whether Tagi’s killing was a political murder or a mere crime, the Presidential Administration department head said he could not make any conclusions at this point.

"Until this issue is completely clarified and the stabbers are found, one can’t evaluate this. But I don’t think it is a political murder. Who was targeted or attacked by Rafiq Tagi’s social and political activity so that he would get retaliation? In any case, this is a crime. But it should be investigated and clarified who committed this crime and for what purpose."

The killed Azerbaijani journalist was buried this week four days after being stabbed in a late-night attack.

Tagi, who was a critic of Iran and political Islam, died suddenly on Wednesday in the Baku hospital where he had been treated following the attack on him last Saturday.

Doctors said on Thursday that Tagi died of inflammation of the lungs as a result of the multiple stab wounds he suffered.

Police have launched a criminal case for intentionally inflicting serious damage to someone's health.

International media watchdogs, including Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, have issued statements calling for a thorough and fair investigation to be conducted into the writer's death.

France has called on Azerbaijani authorities to do everything in their power to quickly track down the killer and those who ordered the crime, says a statement released by a French foreign ministry spokesman.

In comments to Radio Liberty early this week, Tagi said the attack might have been linked to an article he published earlier this month on the website of Radio Liberty's Azerbaijan Service titled "Iran and the Inevitability of Globalization."

In the article, he sharply criticized the Iranian government and ridiculed Tehran's threats against Azerbaijan.

In 2007, a district court in Baku sentenced Tagi to three years in jail for an article published in 2006 that was deemed to be critical of Islam and Prophet Muhammad. He was granted a presidential pardon later that year.

That article prompted an Iranian cleric, Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani, to place a fatwa on Tagi, calling for his death.

On Tuesday, the Iranian embassy in Baku issued a statement denying any Iranian involvement in the attack on Tagi.