BAKU -- Another journalist from the independent Abzas Media news website in Azerbaijan has been detained in a smuggling case that the outlet rejects as trumped up, the latest in a series of arrests in what rights groups say is a crackdown on the outlet's "pioneering journalism" to root out corruption.
Nargiz Absalamova's relatives told RFE/RL that she was summoned for interrogation for a second time on November 30 and was detained later on charges of smuggling.
Interior Ministry spokesman Ibragim Amiraslanli confirmed to the Turan news agency on December 1 that Absalamova had been detained on unspecified charges and that an investigation is under way.
Absalamova is the fourth journalist from Abzas Media arrested in recent days.
Abzas's director, Ulvi Hasanli; chief editor Sevinc Vaqifqizi; and employee Mahammad Kekalov were arrested less than two weeks ago after police claimed they found 40,000 euros ($43,800) in cash in Abzas's offices.
The journalists insist the case against them is in retaliation for their reports about corruption among officials.
Critics of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's government say authorities in the oil-rich Caspian Sea state frequently seek to silence dissent by jailing opposition activists, journalists, and civil society advocates on trumped-up charges.
Amnesty International has demanded the immediate release of Hasanli, Vaqifqizi, and Kekalov, saying the government's campaign "fits into a pattern of critics being arrested by the authorities to stifle their dissent," while Human Rights Watch (HRW) chided Azerbaijani authorities for pursuing "dubious, punitive criminal charges against their critics.”
Aliyev has repeatedly rejected criticism from rights groups and Western governments accusing him of jailing his opponents and abusing power to stifle dissent.
Earlier this week, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S., French, and German envoys to protest what it called "illegal financial operations" by organizations located in the three countries to support Abzas Media.
Aliyev has ruled Azerbaijan with an iron fist since 2003, taking over for his father, Heydar Aliyev, who served as president for a decade.