Baku angered by EU statement on politicians' arrest
BAKU. Feb 10 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan said the European Union's statement on the arrest of two Azeri politicians is an instance of unacceptable pressure on the investigation.
"Baku sees such an attitude to Azerbaijan as unfair and biased," Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev told the media on Sunday.
The EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule expressed concern on Saturday about the arrest of Musavat party deputy leader Tofik Agublu and Republican Alternative party leader Ilgar Mamedov, earlier reports said.
They urged the Azeri government in a statement circulated in Brussels to ensure a swift, fair, transparent and independent inquiry into the charges brought against the two politicians and to refrain from raising further obstacles to reporters and political activists' determination to exercise their fundamental rights and liberties.
Ashton and Fule also urged Azerbaijan to review the charges brought against participants in a peaceful demonstration in Baku on January 26, to guarantee an honest investigation into complaints about violence allegedly committed against participants in that demonstration and in protests in Ismaili, and to create decent living conditions for the arrested demonstrators.
