Azerbaijani economist Farid Mehralizada has been arrested and charged with foreign currency smuggling in what appears to be part of a crackdown on dissent and free press. A court in Baku ruled over the weekend that Mehralizada must stay in pretrial detention for three months and 20 days. Investigators said Mehralizada's arrest was linked to the cases against several journalists from the Abzas Media independent investigative website who are under pretrial arrest on charges of illegally smuggling foreign currency, which they reject as politically motivated. Mehralizada maintains he had nothing to do with the media outlet. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service, click here.
