Citizens of US and UK beaten in Baku

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US Embassy about beating of foreign citizens. Responding to the question of  Turan about beating of two foreign citizens in Baku yesterday evening, the US Embassy released the following: The Embassy is aware of the crime, and Embassy personnel were involved in assisting the victims.A police report has been filed by the victims; questions about the investigation should be directed to the Azerbaijan police authorities.
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Unknown people attacked the American journalist Amanda Erickson and the British human rights activist Silja Davis in Baku last night. The incident occurred close to the National Drama Theatre.Turan learned from informed sources that several young men of athletic appearance jumped on the girls and started beating them without explanation. Earlier, the girls noticed that these guys were watching them.

As a result, the girls were seriously injured.The Interior Ministry’s press officer Orkhan Mansurzade told Turan he had no information about the beating of two foreign citizens. However, he noted that if such a fact had really occurred, the media should call the duty police services on 102 or apply to the relevant territorial police department.

The U.S. and British embassies have not yet commented on the message.Erickson and Davis worked with local NGOs, providing training for journalists and civil society activists.Erickson also worked with the Washington Post and The New York Times. Interestingly, the beating of an American journalist and a British human rights activist was at the moment of the visit to Baku of the Deputy Assistant to the US Secretary of State for Democracy and Human Rights, Thomas Melia.Pressure on foreign journalists and civil society activists is becoming a new phenomenon in Azerbaijan.

We have never observed such a demonstrative attack on foreign human rights activists and journalists in Azerbaijan so far. But most shameful is that men beat women.Three journalists from Sweden were detained in Baku in April and deported a day later.