Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry rejects Europarl resolution on journalist Mukhtarli case
BAKU. June 16 (Interfax) - Baku deems the European Parliament's resolution on the case of journalist Afgan Mukhtarli to be biased, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press secretary Hikmet Hajiyev said.
"The European Parliament adopted a resolution pertaining to Afgan Mukhtarli on June 15. The document adopted after a debate, which lasted for only 20 minutes, is biased and fictitious, it has no legal force and does not entail any legal or other result," Hajiyev said in a statement.
The European Parliament resolution titled 'Case of Afgan Mukhtarli and situation of media in Azerbaijan' urged Baku to immediately release the opposition journalist and called on Tbilisi to conduct a transparent investigation and to punish the persons involved in the alleged abduction of Mukhtarli from Tbilisi. The resolution authors described the incident as a flagrant violation of human rights.
The European Parliament urged the Georgian authorities to scatter suspicions of the Mukhtarli family and lawyer about the involvement of Georgian law enforcement agencies in the disappearance of the journalist.
The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case against the journalist on the counts of illegal crossing of the state border and contraband.