Baku, Azerbaijan - The Azeri Prosecutor General's Office has initiated a criminal case following last week's publication of an article in the Senet newspaper insulting the Prophet Muhammad, First Deputy Prosecutor General Rustam Usubov told journalists.
"We invited Senet's editor-in-chief Samir Sedagetoglu and the article's author Rafik Tagi to the Prosecutor General's Office. We issued an official warning to them that the newspaper must retract the article immediately," he said.
"Simultaneously, we opened a criminal case based on charges of using one's position to incite ethnic, racial and religious hatred. The Prosecutor General Office's department for grave crimes will handle the investigation," Usubov said.
The charge carries a sentence of three to five years in prison.
An unauthorized rally was staged in the village of Nardaran, outside Baku, last week to protest the article entitled "Europe And Us." The demonstrators demanded the death penalty for Tagi.
Threats have been voiced against the newspaper's editor-in-chief and the article's author, Usubov said. "Rallies have been held in several places denouncing the article. Threats have been made against [Sedagetoglu and Tagi] and their families, which is unacceptable," the first deputy prosecutor general said.
"Law enforcement services and the government are taking their measures. The Prosecutor General's Office is working to ensure the security of Sedagetoglu, Tagi and their family members," Usubov said.