Epress.am News from Armenia
Unknown assailants attacked American journalist Amanda Erickson and British human rights activist Celia Davies in Baku on the eve of Jun. 15, report Azerbaijani media.
According to Turan news agency, several young athletic men attacked the two women and without explanation began beating them. Earlier, the girls had noticed that they were being followed. The foreign nationals have received serious injuries as a result of the incident.
Orhan Mansurzade, press officer of Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry, said he had no information about the assault on the two foreign nationals. The UK and US embassies have not yet commented on the incident, report local media.
Erickson and Davies work with local NGOs, providing training for journalists and members of civil society. Erickson has also worked with The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Contact.az notes that past attacks on foreign human rights activists and journalists in Azerbaijan weren’t so demonstrative in character. Recall, in April, three journalists from Sweden were detained and deported from Baku.