On 4 June, two journalists were killed and several people injured in the Kalbajar district when a car was blown up by an anti-tank mine.
The victims were the correspondent of the state agency “Azertaj” Magerram Ibragimov and the operator of the national TV channel "AZTV" Siraj Abyshev. Besides the two journalists, the representative of the executive power of the Kalbajar district Arif Aliev also died in the incident.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement following the incident, saying that Armenia seeks to aggravate the situation in the region by continuing to plant mines in the Azerbaijani lands and by posing a threat to the lives of military servicemen and civilians.
The Assistant to Azerbaijan’s President Hikmet Hajiyev, as well as the country’s Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva called on the international community to respond to this issue. “Unfortunately, I would like to note that the lack of any international pressure on Armenia to provide minefield maps causes the killing of another innocent person every other day. We consider that the relevant international human rights organisations should not ignore these human rights violations and take appropriate steps within their competencies,” Aliyeva said.
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic also responded to the issue. “The explosion of a landmine which killed three people, including two journalists, and wounded several others in Kalbajar shows the urgent need to demine the areas affected by the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, including through international cooperation,” read her Twitter post.
The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, expressed her “deep concern and sadness over the death of two Azerbaijani journalists. “The tragic death of Maharram Ibrahimov and Siraj Abishov is terrible news and I extend my deepest sympathy and condolences to their relatives and colleagues,” Ribeiro said. Ribeiro noted that the law enforcement agencies have launched an investigation into the case and expressed hope that it will ensure full accountability for the journalists’ death.
