A Baku court on May 6, 2015 decided to extend pre-trial detention of newspaper
Zerkalo
reporter for another 4 months,
Turan News Agency
reported. Mirkadyrov was arrested on April 19, 2014 in Ankara, Turkey and extradited to Baku where he was arrested on charges of spying for Armenia and high treason.
The Azerbaijani intelligence services claim that he received money from Armenia in exchange for information about Azerbaijan’s armed forces.
Reporters Without Borders
on May 6, 2015 condemned the court decision to extend Mirkadyrov’s detention, describing the charges as trumped-up and absurd.
“
We are deeply outraged by the charges brought against Rauf Mirkadyrov, which are worthy of a bygone age,”
said Johann Bihr the head of the Reporters Without Borders Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.
“
There can be no doubt about the political nature of his detention. We again call on the authorities to abandon this prosecution and to release this journalist without delay.”
Sources: Turan, Reporters Without Borders
