Defence reports beating Azerbaijani journalist detained in Moscow

The journalist, Fuad Abbasov, detained in Moscow, was accused of violating the immigration legislation.

His advocate, Elman Pashaev, has reported the journalist's detention in Moscow, adding that during Abbasov's detention on May 16, the journalist was beaten up, the "minval.az" wrote on May 21.

According to Mr Pashaev, Abbasov is accused of violating the immigration legislation; and on May 28, he will be deported to Baku. The journalist himself suspects that the customers for his detention are either members of the "Armenian lobby" or high-ranking officials from the Azerbaijani Diaspora, said Pashaev.

"At present, his custody conditions are normal. For the first two days he was not allowed to contact anyone. Today (on May 21) I gave him a phone; and now he is able to communicate," the "minval.az" quotes the advocate as saying.

The Abbasov's detention was confirmed by Aflatun Amashov, the chairman of the Press Council of Azerbaijan, the "1news.az" writes.

"It is known that he is accused of violating the immigration legislation. Fuad Abbasov is a well-known journalist and has always been known for consistency in his position," the "1news.az" quotes Mr Amashov as saying.

According to the edition, "several Azerbaijani communities in Russia" had applied to a Moscow court demanding Abbasov's deportation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 22, 2019 at 06:20 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.