Photo and video materials confiscated from journalists in Nakhichevan during Aliev's visit

On August 3, during the visit of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR), independent journalists of the region were not let to the opening ceremonies of a number of social and economic objects.

As said in the statement of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) that has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the employees of the regional office of this human rights organization Khakimeldostu Mekhtiev and Elman Abbasov, Malakhat Nasibova, a regional correspondent of the "Turan" Information Agency, and Ilgar Nasibov, a press photographer of the Azerbaijani Service of Radio Liberty, were not admitted to the events with participation of the president. Moreover, their other photos and videos taken during the day were liquidated.

Thus, the journalists, having received no permit to take part in the ceremonies, tried to prepare their photo and video reports from some close distance from the venues - opening of a maternity hospital, a chess school, the Nakhichevan-Sadarak Highway, the Olympic complex in Sharur, etc.

However, the officers from the NAR's Ministry of National Security (MNS) accused the journalists of illegal filming and demanded to give out the equipment.

Journalist Malakhat Nasibova has confirmed the fact of confiscation by employees of NAR's special agencies of her photo and video cameras and destruction of all the materials. According to her story, while doing this, the MNS employees referred to the amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan, enacted this March, according to which persons cannot be photographed or videoed without their consent.

Attempts to get any comments from the administration of the President of Azerbaijan and the MNS of the NAR failed.