Continued Media Suppression in Azerbaijan; Another Journalist Arrested

On Monday, Azerbaijan arrested a journalist and issued a temporary detention order for another journalist. According to Reuters, Reporters Without Borders ranks Azerbaijan 151st out of 180 countries in its press freedom index. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that Shahin Rzayev, a political analyst for Jam News, a media outlet covering news from Azerbaijan and its neighbors, Georgia and Armenia, was arrested on charges of 'petty hooliganism' and will be detained for 15 days. Separately, a court in Baku ordered that Elnara Qasimova, a journalist for the investigative news outlet Abzas Media, be held in temporary detention until April 3 (15 Farvardin) on trafficking charges. She is the sixth reporter from Abzas Media to be charged under anti-trafficking laws since November. At that time, police claimed to have found 40,000 euros (44,000 dollars) in cash at the news organization's offices in Baku. Additionally, in November, Azerbaijani police arrested Aziz Aroujov, head of the online channel Kanal 31, and subsequently charged him with trafficking. International press freedom groups have called for the release of Abzas Media staff, describing these arrests as an attempt to silence their anti-corruption reporting in Azerbaijan. Baku is set to hold early presidential elections next month, where current President Ilham Aliyev is expected to win again. He came to power after the death of his father, Heydar Aliyev, who was also the President of Azerbaijan. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for the release of the critical journalist in Azerbaijan, and the Armenian envoy to the European Union has demanded 'decisive action' from the West against Azerbaijan.