Faramaz Novruzoglu (Allahverdiyev), editor and head consultant for Nota newspaper, has received anonymous death threats. The IRFS Institute for Reporter Freedom and Safety (IRFS) informed by Novruzoglu that unknown individuals called him and threatened him and his family members. Novruzoglu believes that these calls are related to his recent series of articles about the Antiterrorism Centre of the Ministry of National Security (NSM), published in "Nota".
People calling Novruzoglu from both listed and unlisted numbers introduced themselves as people who are linked to the Director of the NSM's Antiterrorism Centre, Elchin Guliyev, the centre's Assistant Director, Ilgar Aliyev, and Assistant National Security Minister Hilal Asadov. The journalist appealed to the president on February 22, 2009 in connection with these calls.
Novruzoglu added that the chairman of the "Azadlig Harakatchilari Birliyi" (Union of Freedom Movement), Tahmasib Novruzov, came to the newspaper's editorial office and demanded that the articles about NSM be stopped. Novruzov said that he did not know anyone named Aliyev, Asadov or Guliyev who works at NSM.
IRFS tried to call the numbers from which Novruzoglu received the death threats. However, the calls went unanswered.
