Mehman Aliyev, a prominent journalist and editor-in-chief of the renowned news agency Turan, was released from custody and placed under police supervision today. While his release from custody is to be welcomed, we note that criminal charges against him have not been dropped.

In his statement of 25 August, following arrest of Mehman Aliyev, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland called on the authorities of Azerbaijan to fully abide by its commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights in order to avoid the deprivation of liberty, and stressed that media and journalists should be able to carry out their activities freely without being subject to intimidation or undue interference.