Azerbaijani TV Station's Journalists Detained; U.S. 'Deeply Troubled'

Police in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, detained about a dozen journalists from the online Toplum TV channel on March 6 after searching their offices, the detained journalists' relatives said, prompting the U.S. State Department to say it was "deeply troubled" by the reports.

Reports say police also detained several members of the Third Republic Platform opposition group, as well as two members of the NIDA civic movement.

The Interior Ministry confirmed that "operative measures" and searches had been conducted at the channel's offices and other addresses, saying it would provide additional information later.

Toplum TV's editor in chief is Khadija Ismayilova, a former bureau chief in Baku for RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service and one of the country's most renowned investigative journalists.

Ismayilova told journalists that no official explanation for the raids was given.

"It looks like [the authorities] want to fully liquidate independent media in the country to leave no platform for critical opinions," Ismayilova said.

"We have not been involved in any illegal activities. Therefore, there are no legal explanations for what is happening," she added, stressing that she is trying to find the whereabouts of her colleagues who were in the office during the search and never came out of the building.