YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Amnesty International says two of its representatives were detained when trying to enter Azerbaijan and then deported.

“Armenpress” reports referring to abcnews.go.com that the former Soviet republic has come under growing criticism for human rights concerns and a crackdown on opposition. In a recent high-profile case, journalist Khadija Ismayilova was sentenced to prison for 7 ½ years on financial crimes charges that supporters say were retaliation for her reporting on alleged corruption involving President Ilham Aliyev and his family.

In a statement, Amnesty said two of its delegates who are Georgian citizens were detained after flying into the capital, Baku, on Wednesday and then expelled from the country.

"There is no letup in the government's repressive campaign to stifle all criticism and dissent," Amnesty's director for Central Asia John Dalhusien said.