Azerbaijan: Index award winning journalist Idrak Abbasov brutally beaten

Azerbaijani journalist and Index award winner Idrak Abbasov was brutally assaulted today. Abbasov was filming the demolition of a house  by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in the village of Sulutapa. His brother told reporters that several SOCAR employees grabbed the journalist’s camera and started kicking him. “He was covered in blood, his head was broken, and one eye was fully closed. I ran up and tried to protect Idrak, but they started beating me,” Roman Abbasov said, adding that he took his brother to hospital after police refused to let doctors reach their home. The journalist is believed to have suffered rib fractures, concussion and potential damage to his internal organs.

Idrak Abbasov won the journalism award and the  Index Freedom of Expression Awards 2012