Azerbaijan detains opposition journalist

BAKU: Azerbaijan on Friday jailed an opposition journalist who was detained in murky circumstances, his lawyer said, prompting concerns for his safety amid growing pressure on media.
Shirin Abbasov, 19, who works for pro-opposition Meydan TV Internet-based broadcaster, "has been arrested for 30 days on charges of resisting police," his lawyer Elchin Sadikhov told AFP.
He said that Abbasov went missing on Wednesday and his family and colleagues were unaware of his whereabouts.
The Interior Ministry "refused to reveal further details on the cause of his arrest," Sadikhov said. "I was not allowed to meet my client in custody."
"We believe that Abbasov is being prosecuted due to his work for a pro-opposition media outlet," the lawyer added.
Reporters Without Borders said in a statement it was "extremely concerned" about the young man, calling Meydan TV a "government target".
"We believe that Abbasov is in danger and we demand his immediate release," said Johann Bihr, head of the media watchdog´s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk.
Meydan TV is a Berlin-based online TV station that covers Azerbaijan.
Another journalist for the station was abducted on a Baku street on Wednesday and questioned for several hours by plain clothes officers,
Reporters Without Borders said.
Dissent is kept under strict control in Azerbaijan and is often met with a tough government response.
Rights groups say the government of the oil-rich Caucasus nation has stepped up pressure on critical journalists and political opponents since
President Ilham Aliyev´s election for a third term in 2013.