BAKU. Nov 20 (Interfax) - The Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office has sent an official request to the law enforcement agencies of Russia and other countries for legal assistance in conducting investigative actions as concerns Russian citizens Semyon Pegov and Semyon Bagdasarov, who are being prosecuted in Azerbaijan.
"The Investigative Directorate of the Prosecutor General's Office is conducting an investigation against blogger Semyon Pegov (project War-Gonzo) and Semyon Bagdasarov, director of the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Central Asia, whose actions are qualified under Articles 214-2 (public calls for terrorism), 281.2 (public calls by a group of people against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan), 283.2.1 (public calls for ethnic hatred with threats of violence through the mass media) of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a report.
Pegov was also found to have crossed the Azerbaijani state border illegally, the report said.
"Within the framework of the investigation into the criminal case, official requests for legal assistance were sent to the Russian Prosecutor General's Office and the law enforcement bodies of other countries to conduct investigative actions against Pegov and other people," the report said.
According to earlier reports, the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case against Russian journalist Pegov on October 12, 2020.
The criminal case was opened after Pegov violated "the state border law of the Azerbaijani republic and illegally arrived in the city of Khankendi [the Azerbaijani name for Stepanakert] via Armenian territory in evasion of border checkpoints and without the proper travel documents, as well as visited other territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, which are described by the Azerbaijani authorities as occupied territories."
Pegov also published materials on his website urging Russian citizens to come to the Karabakh conflict zone and assist the Armenian forces, the Prosecutor General's Office said.
The Russian journalist also published materials with calls against Azerbaijani territorial integrity, it said.