Azernews.Az

A reporter of Iran’s Seher TV channel, which is known for its anti-Azerbaijani broadcasts, has been detained in Baku on charges of drug possession.

Anar Bayramli, a 32-year-old Azerbaijani citizen, was arrested last Friday after 0.4 grams of heroin were found on him, police officials said.

Bayramli is said to have resisted the police during his detention.

His family members reportedly claimed that the drugs had been planted by law enforcers.

Local media reported that the driver for Seher TV’s office in Sumgayit, a town located 30 km north of the capital Baku, has also been detained.

Iranian embassy spokesman Abbas Isgandari said the diplomatic mission does not accept allegations that the TV channel’s employees had violated the law.

"The detained persons are conscientious, honest people and they are professionals," Isgandari said.

He believes the detention of Seher employees is aimed at damaging bilateral relations.

Ali Hasanov, the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration’s head of social and political issues, told APA news agency that there are no reporters or other employees of the Iranian TV channel with the mentioned name accredited in Azerbaijan.

Hasanov said the Iranian broadcaster’s officially registered representative in the country is known.

"There are records in this regard at the Foreign Ministry and other pertinent bodies. But there is no Iranian TV channel reporter under the name cited in the media," he said.

The case is occurring amid tensions between the Azerbaijani and Iranian governments. Tehran has reportedly been displeased by friendlier links between Azerbaijan and Israel in recent months, while Azerbaijan has accused Iran of sponsoring Islamic radicals on its territory.

Azerbaijani law enforcers in mid-January nabbed a cell linked to the Iranian secret service that planned terror attacks reportedly targeting Israeli public figures in Baku. Iran responded by claiming that Azerbaijan allows its territory to be used for anti-Iranian activity and turned a blind eye to free travel of terrorists implicated in the recent killing of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Bayramli’s employer, Sahar TV, has been accused by the Azerbaijani authorities of broadcasting propaganda into neighboring Azerbaijan.