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Azerbaijani political migrant in Germany, head of the online media project Meydan TV, Emin Milli, said his wife’s brother had been arrested in Azerbaijan on drug charges, according to Turan agency.

“The brother of my wife, Nazim Aghabayov (IT expert) is arrested and may end up spending up to 12 years in jail. He is charged with absurd and bogus accusations of selling drugs. It is wide spread practice of Aliyev-terror-regime by now. They are punishing the relatives, family members and take them as hostages,” Milli wrote on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/emin.milli.3/posts/795862850533139. “All this pressure had one purpose to silence me personally and to silence Meydan TV.”

The European Union, US, UK, German and other European governments are observing these latest developments in great silence because they want to keep relations with this criminal regime to do business and make money. This hypocrisy helps Aliyev regime keep its power, he added.

According to Turan, Nazim Aghabayov’s family are not aware of the reason of his detention and location. “I have no information why my son was arrested. We have not been in any contact. The investigators have not communicated us. We still do now have a lawyer. I can say just one thing. My son is a very calm person. He is one of the best programmers,” Nazim Aghabayov’s father, painter Mais Aghabayov told Turan. He added that his son had been detained a few days before and no detention details had been revealed.

On 26 June 2015, Emin Milli reported that he had received a threat from the Azerbaijani Minister of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimov, in connection with his critical reporting on the European Games. The World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) said Meydan TV provided alternative news coverage of Azerbaijan. During the European Games, Meydan TV’s materials were widely used by the international media, including stories on the Azerbaijani bus driver who crashed into three Austrian swimmers and the interview by a national television station of a fake British tourist. Milli himself also gave more than 20 interviews on the games to the international media stating that Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev is responsible for the threat against him.

In July 2015, the relatives of the editor-in-chief of the Azerbaijani opposition newspaper Azadlig and host of the program “Azerbaijan hour”, Ganimat Zahid, were detained on similar charges in Azerbaijan. Zahid is currently an immigrant in France. “Not being able to reach me, they try to blackmail me by arresting my relatives,” Ganimat Zahid said.