21 July 2010, 20:00
In Azerbaijan, journalists detained at the building of President's administration
On Tuesday, July 20, four journalists were detained in Baku near the administration of the President of Azerbaijan, when they were covering the protest action of residents of the Sabirabad District, who suffered from floods.
Dzhavid Gurbanov and Mekhman Guseinov, journalists of the "Turan" Agency, a reporter of the Azerbaijani service of Radio Liberty and Gadji Zeinalov from the "Bizim Yol" newspaper were detained by agents of the Special Service of State Security. They were told that filming of the building of the administration is forbidden.
The journalists were brought inside the building, where their photo and video equipment was confiscated and returned back after all the pictures with the administration building were deleted. Then, the detainees were released.
The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) has treated the incident as "pressure on the press," having noted that filming of the building of the President's administration is not forbidden by any statutory act.
Author: Faik Medzhid Source: CK correspondent
