Journalist arrested on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border has been released

Kamran Mahmudov, an Azerbaijani journalist who has been cooperating closely with some opposition media outlets, has been released after being arrested for an attempt to illegally cross the border into Georgia.

The journalist was arrested at passport control on the border checkpoint, at 5 a.m., and was escorted to the Qazakh district police department.

Javid Rzazade, the lawyer accompanying the journalist, reported on his Facebook page with reference to the border guards that Mahmudov was allegedly arrested because he had been on the ‘wanted’ list. The lawyer added that AZN 127, as well as several plastic cards and other belongings were seized during Mahmudov’s search. Neither the lawyers nor any witnesses were present during the personal search.

A few hours later, police officers told the lawyer that Mahmudov was arrested under the Interior Ministry’s 27 April 2017 order, and that he had been put on the list of individuals banned from leaving the country. The reasons he had been included in the aforesaid list were not explained.

The journalist was released at 12:15 p.m., and was advised to return to Baku.

“There are some things that still remain unclear to me. I don’t know the reason behind my arrest order. Given the government’s ‘attention’ to journalists, anything could be expected in our country,” Mahmudov told the Turan news agency upon his release.

The journalist added that all seized items, including the money and documents, were returned to him. Mahmudov is going to appeal to court in order find out the reasons for imposing a travel ban on him.

Kamran Mahmudov gained fame as a host at the now-closed ANS-ÇM radio station. He was closely cooperating with Azadliq Radio and the Kanal-13 (Channel-13) online broadcaster, that are also currently blocked in Azerbaijan. The date he was put on the list suggests that Mahmudov fell out of favor due to his links with Kanal-13. Aziz Orujev, the Director of Kanal-13, was arrested around that time.

Find more details about the arrest of Aziz Orujev, the Kanal-13 Director, in the JAMnews publication at:

https://jam-news.net/?p=35592