Azerbaijan hits out at Germany, Norway over bloggers

By Afet Mehtiyeva

BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan accused Germany and Norway of interfering in internal politics after both countries condemned the jailing of two opposition bloggers last week.

Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli were jailed for 24 and 30 months for hooliganism after an incident in a Baku cafe. The pair said they were the victims of an unprovoked attack after posting their latest clip poking fun at the authorities.

Rights groups say the case is part of a long-running crackdown on dissent in the former Soviet republic, courted by the West and Russia for its oil and gas reserves. The Council of Europe and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has voiced its concern about the case.

The Norwegian embassy said the case raised "serious questions about the rule of law and freedom of expression in Azerbaijan," and called for a fair and transparent appeal process.

The Azeri Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday saying it had summoned senior Norwegian and German diplomats to the ministry on Monday to protest over the statements issued by their embassies criticising the case.

It quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Vagif Sadykhov as saying the comments were met with "astonishment and deep regret."

Their conclusions "are baseless, unacceptable, and do not befit the level of relations between the countries, and are taken as an attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan," Sadykhov said.

Rights groups say Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and his father before him have presided over worsening restrictions on opposition parties, independent media and civil society under cover of an oil-fuelled economic boom.