Azerbaijani Authorities Arrest Independent Editor on Drug Charges; Family Cries Foul

10:35, June 26, 2012

New York, June 25, 2012 – Authorities in Azerbaijan must drop the charges against journalist Hilal Mamedov and immediately release him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Mamedov is the eighth journalist jailed in Azerbaijan, according to CPJ research.

Authorities detained Mamedov, chief editor of the independent newspaper Talyshi Sado, last Thursday after allegedly finding about 5 grams of heroin in his pocket, according to the Azeri-language service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The circumstances of the journalist’s arrest were not clear. Later that night, police raided the journalist’s home and said they found another 30 grams of heroin, news reports said. On Friday, the Nizami District Court in Baku, the capital, ordered Mamedov to be imprisoned for three months in pretrial detention on drug possession charges, the reports said.  Read more... (366 words)

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