The International Press Institute (IPI) today firmly condemned an attack on Azerbaijani journalist Seymur Haziyev, who was reportedly kidnapped early Saturday morning outside of Baku by masked men who beat him and told him to “be smart.”

Haziyev, of the opposition Azadliq (Freedom) Newspaper, said that six assailants speaking Russian among themselves put a sack on his head and beat him, shoved him into a bus, drove him to an apartment 25 minutes away and then beat him further.

He told attendees of a press conference Saturday morning at the office of the Institute for Reporters Safety and Freedom that the incident happened while he was waiting for a bus as he returned home from work. He also said the kidnappers recorded the beating with a mobile home.

Azadliq editor Ganimat Zahid told Azerbaijan’s Turan News Agency that the assailants “advised Seymur to be smart, and threatened that otherwise, it will be worse for him.”

The assailants reportedly took Haziyev’s two mobile phones and seized information from the database of his laptop before freeing him near the village of Binagadi at 2:30 a.m.

Haziyev vowed Saturday that no threats or torture would make him stop criticising the Azerbaijani government.

The chair of Azerbaijan’s Press Council, Aflatun Amashov, reportedly has sent a letter to the head of Azerbaijan’s police demanding that the case be looked into.

Umud Mirzayev, chairman of IPI’s Azerbaijan National Committee, said he “strongly condemns the act of beating any Azerbaijani journalists no matter if they are in the line of duty or living their normal life.” He added that he “would always want to express support to all journalists in Azerbaijan and, through IPI, ensure the freedom of press in Azerbaijan.”

IPI Director Alison Bethel McKenzie commented: “We urge the authorities to conduct a swift, transparent investigation and to bring those responsible to justice. At a time when Azerbaijan is seeking to convince observers that it really cares about press freedom, impunity in a case like this would be detrimental to that cause. In addition, the government, through its actions and statements, must send a strong message that attacks on journalists will not be tolerated by the administration.”