A sports reporter was beaten to death over the weekend by a group of attackers who allegedly took issue with a Facebook post he wrote about a local soccer player.
Rasim Aliyev, 30, died Sunday after being assaulted the day before, according to Azerbaijan’s Trend News Agency. Aliyev’s sister claimed his murder was the result of an opinion he posted to Facebook.
Writing about Javid Huseynov, a striker for Azerbaijan’s Gabala FC soccer team, Aliyev said, “[Huseynov] did not know how to behave,” according to Turan news agency. Aliyev’s stance stemmed from Huseynov’s behavior during an August 6 match, in which he allegedly made an offensive gesture to a journalist.
Aliyev received threats on Facebook after writing the post, according to Turan’s story. His eventual attacker reportedly coaxed the reporter into meeting for tea by convincing Aliyev he was Huseynov’s cousin and wanted to apologize in person.
On Monday, Azerbaijan’s government vowed to look into Aliyev’s killing, calling it “a threat to freedom of speech and information,” according to News.az.
Clint Davis is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis.
