US initiate signature collection in support of Mekhman Aliev

The website of the US presidential administration collects signatures under the petition with a demand to release Mekhman Aliev, the director of Turan news agency, arrested in Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mekhman Aliev was detained on August 24. He was charged with illegal entrepreneurship and tax evasion, and the court pronounced the decision to arrest Mekhman Aliev. The director of Turan news agency denied the charges.

The US Department of State expressed its concern over the criminal prosecution of Mekhman Aliev and the pressure on the agency itself.

On August 26, the petition entitled "Force Azerbaijani government to release Mekhman Aliev, whose only crime is to head the country's last free media outlet" was posted on the White House's website in the "We the People" section.

The petition emphasizes that Turan news agency is one of the first independent news agencies of the former USSR.

"The false charges filed against Mekhman Aliev testify the plans to sentence him to up to 7 years of imprisonment," believe authors of the petition who urge the US authorities to "immediately intervene in the situation."

The petition calls to "lift the charges against Mekhman Aliev and release him immediately and unconditionally."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.