Foreign

Home page

Foreign

The U.S. Embassy is concerned about sudden arrest of Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizadeh

11 July 2009 11:00 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Lachin Sultanova â€“ APA. The United States Embassy is concerned about sudden arrest and detention of NGO leaders Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizadeh, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy told APA.
â€œWe note the reports that they have been beaten by unknown assailants and detained pending trial while their assailants have been released. We are also concerned by reports that the police denied them access to their lawyers and adequate medical care.
We have raised this issue with senior officials of the Government of Azerbaijan and law enforcement officials. We will continue to do so. We call on the Government of Azerbaijan to ensure that Mr. Milli and Mr. Hajizadeh are granted proper access to legal assistance and medical care. We ask that the Government of Azerbaijan exercise due process in this case and respect the rights of these individuals.
The United States Government remains committed to working with the government and people of Azerbaijan to encourage freedom of speech and freedom of association, which we view as integral to the democratic process in every nationâ€.