Police in Baku detained the chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Education Center, Anar Mammadli, his colleagues said on April 29. Mammadli's lawyer, Elcin Sadiqov, told RFE/RL that his client’s detention was linked to the case against several journalists of Abzas Media independent investigative website, who are under pretrial arrest on charges of illegally smuggling foreign currency, which they reject as politically motivated. Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil-society advocates on trumped-up charges. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.
Head Of Independent Election Monitor Detained In Azerbaijan
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