Reporters Without Borders said today it took note of a claim by the prosecutor general that former economic development minister Farhad Aliyev, who is being held on a charge of financing a coup attempt, was involved in the March 2005 murder of Elmar Huseynov, the editor of the Monitor opposition weekly.

Prosecutor general Zakir Garalov yesterday told journalists that evidence has been found linking Aliyev to Haji Mammadov, a police colonel accused of running a kidnapping ring. During a 25 July hearing about the abduction of a businessman's relatives, Mammadov unexpectedly confessed to killing Huseynov on Aliyev's orders.

Reporters Without Borders said: "We call on the prosecutor and judges to be suspicious of this leading suspect's belated confession. Investigators should not rule out any possibilities in this case."

Garalov yesterday said an address book found in Aliyev's office contained Mammadov's phone number. Aliyev's lawyer confirmed this, but said his client nonetheless completely denied having anything to do with the Huseynov murder.

Garalov claimed that Huseynov was murdered as a result of a series of critical articles about Aliyev and Azpetrol, an oil consortium that used to be run by his brother, Rafiq Aliyev, who - according to Garalov - had previously tried to 'buy' Huseynov in 2003.

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