Int’l community must adequately respond to Tbilisi-based reporter’s kidnapping by Azerbaijan, says Armenian lawmaker

Armenpress News Agency, Armenia
June 5, 2017 Monday
Int'l community must adequately respond to Tbilisi-based reporter's
kidnapping by Azerbaijan, says Armenian lawmaker
YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani kidnapping of
Tbilisi-based opposition reporter Afghan Mukhtarli to Baku received
worldwide attention, Armen Ashotyan, chairman of the Armenian
parliament’s foreign relations committee said on Facebook.
“This issue is also relevant in terms of guaranteeing the fundamental
freedoms and rights on citizens of Armenia and Artsakh and foreigners
who are blacklisted by Azerbaijan. The strict response of the US State
Department and the EU External Action Service once again emphasized
the vivid and apparent reality of violation of fundamental human
rights in Azerbaijan”, Ashotyan said.
He emphasized that the full investigation into this incident is not
only the internal affair of Georgia, but also an imperative of
adequately responding to another gauntlet thrown by Azerbaijan to the
international community.
Afghan Mukhtarli is a known critic of the Azerbaijani authorities’
policies. Since 2015, he was forced to settle in Tbilisi. He
disappeared two days ago, and later appeared in Baku and was jailed.
He said that he was kidnapped from downtown Tbilisi by unknown people
wearing civilian clothing, who were speaking Georgian. He was forced
into a car and taken out of Georgia, heavily battered, blindfolded and
taken to another vehicle. He was then forced to a third vehicle,
already on the Azerbaijani border, where he heard the kidnappers talk
in Azerbaijani. The kidnappers framed him by putting a large amount of
cash in his pocket, and now he is charged with smuggling and illegal
border crossing. His attorney has already met him, and said that his
client has bruises on his face.
Afghan told his attorney that he has severe pain in the chest area,
presumably fractured ribs.
A Baku court has remanded Mukhtarli in custody for three months.