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Alert

"Azadlig" journalist receives death threat

(IRFS/IFEX) - "Azadlig" newspaper employee Vidadi Mammadov reported to the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) that on 2 June 2009, he received a death threat from an unidentified person.

"Yesterday at noon I received a threatening call to my mobile phone from a hidden number," said Mammadov. The caller told him "be clever if you want to live, or we'll behead you". Mammadov says he does not know who the caller was.

Mammadov said he has previously received threatening calls in connection with his professional work.

The journalist emphasized that he has not appealed to law enforcement bodies regarding this issue, but has informed the press.

"I think it is useless to appeal to law enforcement bodies," said Mammadov. "Many journalists have been threatened, beaten, harassed and even killed in Azerbaijan. However, none of these crimes have ever been solved. Therefore I don't believe that law enforcement bodies will take this issue seriously and conduct a thorough investigation into it. If they want to take any measures, information published in the press should be enough for them."