A spokesman for the opposition People's Front of Azerbaijan, Isak Avazoglu, said Fikret Huseynli, a reporter with the "Azadliq" newspaper, was seized on March 5 by three men who threw him into the trunk of a car, drove him to a dark alley, and assaulted him.

The attackers left Huseynli after he lost consciousness, and passers-by took him to a hospital, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported.