Continuing its crackdown on independent media, Azerbaijan detained 6 journalists

This is the latest attack on independent media in the country.

In recent months, the Azerbaijani authorities have intensified their crackdown on journalists who have uncovered cases of bribery by high-ranking officials.

Azerbaijan, led by Aliyev since 2003, has long been accused by rights groups of suppressing opposition media and independent journalism.

Police raided the Toplum TV office on Wednesday, editor-in-chief Khadija Ismayilova told AFP, adding: “Police detained six Toplum TV employees […] and political activist Akif Gurbanov on false accusations of illegal foreign currency trading.”

“There is no reasonable explanation for what is happening. It seems that the country wants to completely destroy the independent media so that there are no platforms left for critical opinion,” she said.

The Baku court is expected to make a decision on their remand within 48 hours.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed that it had searched the offices of Toplum TV.

At least 10 more journalists have been arrested in Azerbaijan since November.

In December, human rights organization Amnesty International called the allegations against them false and said the latest arrests represented an “escalating crackdown”.

In September 2015, the representative of investigative journalism and fighter against corruption Kh. Ismayilova was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on corruption charges. Such action was condemned by the international community.

She was released on parole in May 2016.

She accused the government of waging a smear campaign against her in 2012 when a sex tape captured by a hidden camera in her apartment was posted online.

In a leaked 2009 diplomatic letter published by WikiLeaks, I. Aliyev called her an “enemy of the government.”