Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. S.Ilhamgizi / Protest actions will be held in Azerbaijan due to detention of the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani newspaper Azadlig, Ali Aliyev, the co-chairman of the Azadlig bloc, said on 12 November.
The Yasamal District Court of Baku sentenced Zahidov to two months detention on 11 November.
The deputy executive secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, Mubariz Gurbanli, said that there was freedom of speech and press in Azerbaijan. If a journalist is detained due to a crime it means everything has been carried out within the framework of Azerbaijani legislation. "The Article of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code touches every citizen including journalists. And journalists should not abuse freedom of speech, press and opinion and violate bills," Gurbanli said.
Zahidov appealed to the law enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan confirming that he was attacked by Vusal Huseynov on 7 November. However, the editor-in-chief was arrested on the basis of a lawsuit by Huseynov.
If accusations against Zahidov are proven he could face three years in prison. Zahidov's lawyer will appeal against the decision of Yasamal District Court.
At present, eight journalists are being detained in Azerbaijan.