Police raids independent media outlet’s office in Azerbaijan, detains employees
- 7 March, 08:13
Police has detained seven journalists during a raid on Azerbaijan’s independent media outlet Toplum TV, detaining seven staff members.
The office of the online publication was raided on Wednesday and twenty employees were taken away. Some of the staff members were released by midnight on that day, while seven others remain under arrest on charges of smuggling foreign currency.
Among the initially detained 18 people were a number of employees of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives whose office is located in the same building as Toplum TV. The flats of three journalists and two employees of the IDI were raided by police on the same day. Following the raid, Toplum TV’s YouTube and Instagram accounts seem to have been taken over and their content removes.
The raid on Toplum TV comes amid the ongoing crackdown on the country’s independent and opposition media outlets. The charges of foreign currency smuggling were leveled against five members of Abzas Media in November and December, all of whom remain in pre-trial detention.
Toplum TV is an independent news site founded in 2016 by media lawyer Alasgar Mammadli. The site’s editor in chief is well known Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayil.
Police has detained seven journalists during a raid on Azerbaijan’s independent media outlet Toplum TV, detaining seven staff members.
The office of the online publication was raided on Wednesday and twenty employees were taken away. Some of the staff members were released by midnight on that day, while seven others remain under arrest on charges of smuggling foreign currency.
Among the initially detained 18 people were a number of employees of the Institute for Democratic Initiatives whose office is located in the same building as Toplum TV. The flats of three journalists and two employees of the IDI were raided by police on the same day. Following the raid, Toplum TV’s YouTube and Instagram accounts seem to have been taken over and their content removes.
The raid on Toplum TV comes amid the ongoing crackdown on the country’s independent and opposition media outlets. The charges of foreign currency smuggling were leveled against five members of Abzas Media in November and December, all of whom remain in pre-trial detention.
Toplum TV is an independent news site founded in 2016 by media lawyer Alasgar Mammadli. The site’s editor in chief is well known Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayil.
