Azerbaijan: Arrests bolster media concerns

Mina Muradova: 11/13/07

These are not good times to be a pro-opposition editor in Azerbaijan. In the past two weeks, two editors at pro-opposition newspapers have received jail terms in criminal cases, and a third is facing possible prison time following his arrest on assault charges. The actions have set off a wave of criticism by ordinary Azerbaijanis as well as local and international observers.

On November 10, opposition newspaper Azadlig (Freedom) editor-in-chief Ganimet Zahid was formally charged with hooliganism and inflicting minor bodily harm on a man who was accompanying a woman who claims Zahid insulted her. If convicted on both charges, Zahid could face a three-year minimum prison sentence.

A local media watchdog organization, the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), believes that the incident was a provocation designed to engineer trouble for the opposition journalist. "This is not the first time that Zahid, or his paper have been targeted by such ploys," IRFS Chairman Emin Huseynov said. "Azadlig newspaper journalists, including Zahid himself, have been the targets of physical attacks, kidnappings, bogus arrests and so on."

In the run-up to Azerbaijan's 2005 parliamentary elections, the opposition editor was kidnapped, beaten and photographed nude. IRFS maintains that the November 7 incident is similar in its nature. Zahid said that he was walking to Azadlig's offices in Baku's Azerbaijan Publishing House when he was approached by an unknown young woman who began shouting at him that he had insulted and sworn at her. A young man with an athletic build then reportedly approached Zahid, and began beating the editor in retaliation for the woman's allegations. Zahid sustained minor injuries from the incident.

Representatives of the Western diplomatic community in Baku have condemned Zahid's arrest. On November 12, US Ambassador Anne E. Derse noted that "in recent months" signs of an apparent "campaign ... against opposition journalists" have been noted. She stressed that a free press is an important factor for democracy. "The campaign against the press may adversely affect democratic development," local news agencies reported Derse as saying.

IRFS' Huseynov believes that such incidents will only increase as Azerbaijan's presidential campaign gathers momentum.

The government has so far eschewed comment on the arrest. On November 12, however, Ali Ahmadov, the governing Yeni Azerbaijan Party's executive secretary, told reporters that support for "free media ... does not mean that journalists can consider themselves above the law," the news agency Novosti-Azerbaijan reported.

The October 30 sentencing of another journalist to an eight-and-a-half-year prison term by the Azerbaijani Court for Serious Crimes has helped fuel concerns about media rights and freedom of expression. Eynulla Fatullayev, the editor-in-chief of Realny Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan, received the jail time for alleged tax evasion, inciting ethnic and religious hatred and a charge of terrorism. He was also fined 242,522 manats (about $285,300).

The European Union issued a statement on November 8 that characterized the sentence as disproportionate. The case against Fatullayev began after Realny Azerbaijan published an article that alleged that Azerbaijani troops had been responsible in part for a massacre of ethnic Azeris during the war with Armenia over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "Cases of this kind run counter to Azerbaijan's commitment to the freedoms of expression and opinion," the statement charged, underlining that both issues are "essential" for Azerbaijan's participation in the EU's European Neighborhood Policy, "as well as for the development of the partnership between Azerbaijan and the European Union."

While Fatullayev's is the higher-profile case, another opposition editor has also recently been given jail time. On November 6, Ideal newspaper editor-in-chief Nazim Quliyev was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison on charges of defamation. He was found guilty of defamation and insults following a lawsuit filed by Natiq Jafarov, the head of the gas distribution department for Baku's Binaqadi District.

Human rights activists, opposition politicians and pro-opposition journalists are trying to band together in order to combat what they contend is government pressure. On November 12, a working group was set up to advocate for Zahid's release, saying that "the opposition and media representatives must unify their efforts to fight for freedom of speech." The collective is preparing an appeal to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about Zahid's arrest, while two opposition members of parliament – Igbal Agazade, leader of the Umid (Hope) Party, and Panah Huseynov, leader of the People's Party – will petition the General Prosecutor's Office to set Zahid free on bail.

The head of one pro-opposition news agency argues that parliament itself needs to become more pro-active on the freedom-of-speech issue, adding that the country could benefit from legislation that clearly defines the parameters of defamation. "There is a need to establish a group for the protection of freedom of speech since the situation with arrests of journalists and repression of media from the authorities in Azerbaijan has worsened," Turan Director Mehman Aliyev commented to reporters.

In October, officials filed 50 lawsuits against newspapers and journalists on charges of slander, according to the Media Rights Institute, run by the international media support organization Internews. Courts imposed fines worth 250,300 manats (about $294,133) on media in connection with the cases, the Institute reported.

For now, though, the government maintains that these court actions simply reflect the equitable application of the law, with no special privileges given to any group of people.

"Freedom of speech and press is incompatible with insulting and libelling other people," Ali Hasanov, head of the presidential administration's public policy department, commented to Turan on November 9. "No one arrests or persecutes journalists in Azerbaijan. Journalists must know that no one is given a right to insult the dignity and honor of those other people."

Hasanov, a close advisor to President Aliyev, has argued that despite appeals from the international community, "we cannot allow chaos." In the current situation, he added, without elaboration, criminal liability for defamation cannot be repealed. "The right of one person cannot be violated at the expense of another," he said.

Editor's Note: Mina Muradova is a freelance reporter in Baku.

Posted November 13, 2007 © Eurasianet