Currently residing outside of Azerbaijan, journalist Etibar Süleymanlı reports facing torture while performing professional duties in Baku.

According to MediaPost.az, journalist Etibar Süleymanlı emphasizes in his statement that he collaborates with various media outlets and has faced persecution and torture multiple times due to the investigations he has conducted and the articles he has written. The said incident is related to his latest investigative article.

Specifically, journalist Etibar Süleymanlı has been under surveillance due to his investigations into the issue of Silk Way Airlines, Azerbaijan's state-owned aviation company, allegedly delivering weapons to conflict zones worldwide under the guise of diplomatic flights over the past three years. He has published several articles on this matter, which has led to him being pursued. The journalist mentions that he was sent to the company's headquarters on January 3, 2020, to prepare a report, but at that time, he was detained by unidentified individuals in civilian clothes.

"They later took me to the Binagadi District Police Department. There, 4-5 people began beating me on the ground. They struck my waist and abdomen, then subjected me to physical torture by placing my fingers between the door and demanding that I confess to being an "Armenian spy." They claimed that I had gone to Georgia and then secretly crossed into Armenia to receive orders. They beat my waist and broke my fingers," said the journalist, later mentioning that he was taken to the office of Ramin Mehdiyev, the head of the Criminal Search Department of the Binagadi District Police Department. "The chief insulted me and demanded that I confess to being an Armenian spy. I told them that I went there as a journalist and had no connection with Armenians. These answers did not satisfy them, and they continued to beat me. After that, they brought my mother and sister, who live with me, to the police department and questioned them," said the journalist in his statement.

According to journalist Etibar Süleymanlı's words, after his father intervened, he was released in the evening. However, they warned against spreading any information about what had happened.

After returning home, Etibar Süleymanlı's journalist colleagues took photos of the injuries on his body. Suffering from a lung disease and pain, the journalist was sent to Georgia for treatment a few days later.

It has not been possible to obtain a response from the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the journalist's allegations. Etibar Süleymanlı has stated that if he returns to the country, he will be charged under Article 274 (Treason) of the Criminal Code.

Samir Qocayev, the head of the media organization where journalist Etibar Süleymanlı worked, said in his statement: "A person can betray the state if he becomes the carrier of that state's secret. Etibar Süleymanlı is neither a state official nor a carrier of any secret. Therefore, I cannot understand why these events occurred."