AZERBAIJAN: ARRESTS BOLSTER MEDIA CONCERNS
Mina Muradova, a freelance reporter in Baku.
EurasiaNet, NY
Nov 13 2007
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.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress