OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all media workers who are under arrest. In particular, 14 employees of the independent publication Toplum TV were detained the day before. Three have been charged with smuggling: correspondent Farid Ismailov, video editor Mushvig Jabbar, social media manager Elmir Abbasov.
Today in Baku, one of the founders of Platform III Republic, Ruslan Izzetli, and the founder of ToplumTV, Alesker Mammadli, were also detained.
The day before, the US State Department condemned the persecution of Toplum TV employees and called on the Azerbaijani authorities to release all citizens prosecuted for politically motivated cases. Earlier in Azerbaijan, journalists from the online publications Abzas Media, Channel 13 and Channel 11 were arrested.
