28 June 2011, 23:00
Azerbaijani authorities forbid entrance of Bloomberg employee because of her Armenian origin
On June 28, Diana Markosyan, a Bloomberg photojournalist, was detained by border guards at Baku Airport upon arrival, said the spokesman of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and added that she would be deported to Istanbul.
On June 28, Ms Markosyan arrived in Azerbaijan, but she had no MFA's accreditation.
"Two weeks ago the Bloomberg Agency filed an official request to the MFA with the aim to prepare a report about Azerbaijan. The Ministry reacted positively, provided that the photographer Diana Markosyan has been replaced by another Bloomberg employee," said the MFA.
The Azerbaijani MFA's statement stresses that Azerbaijan is at war with Armenia, and appearance of a journalist of Armenian origin in Baku may gave rise to problems with her security, the "Interfax" reports.
