On 12 March, Avaz Zeynalli, editor of independent newspaper Hural, was sentenced to nine years in prison for alleged bribery. The journalist pleaded not guilty, and has claimed that the charges brought against him were connected to his work. According to the Baku-based Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, six more journalists critical of the ruling regime have faced false charges — ranging from possession of drugs to high treason.

Impunity is still a problem: those responsible for the murders of journalists Elmar Huseynov (2005) and Rafiq Tagi (2011) have yet to be found or tried. Well-known Azerbaijani journalist Chingiz Sultansoy told Index:

Impunity has affected the work of all journalists in Azerbaijan for years. The recent cases show that people who attack reporters feel permissiveness and have no fear of punishment for violence. It was the case with brutal attacks on Hadiza Ismail, one of the best investigative journalists in Azerbaijan, or Rashad Zustamov, a reporter for Zerkalo newspaper, who conducted his investigations in the provinces.

Azerbaijani journalist Elmar Huseynov was murdered in 2005

The independent press has faced economic discrimination, as authorities regularly pressure advertisers not to sell ads in these papers; critical newspapers are kept away from press distribution networks, which are controlled by state officials.

“The further pressure aims to completely stifle the free press and restrict media freedom in the country. The regime has not been able to completely destroy the independent media, only because of several courageous media outlets and reporters who continue their work selflessly,” Ganimat Zahid, the editor-in-chief of Azadliq (“Freedom”) newspaper, says.

“Ministers continue filing suits against the press and claim huge compensations and fines in libel cases in order to bankrupt newspapers. As the authorities are aware their real electoral support is low, they try to tighten the screws and restrict people’s rights and freedoms, especially freedom of expression,” Natig Dzhafarli, an executive secretary of REAL movement, says.

Television remains an important source of information for the population of the country. Most of the nine national TV channels are either directly owned by the state or controlled by the authorities. Audiences are inundated with state propaganda, even through channels that offer no direct coverage of current events or political news. For instance, commentators on a state sports channel often forget to comment on a sports event they broadcast — and instead praise President Ilham Aliyev for “the great attention” he pays to development of sports in the country.

“There is no independent television in Azerbaijan. Even the Public TV that is supposed to be a public service broadcaster serves the government. The only alternative TV is ‘Azerbaijani Time’, broadcast from Turkey,” says Shahvalad Chobanoglu, a journalist and critic of the government.

While the authorities keep almost total control over the traditional media, social networks have become an important platform for free expression. Facebook is one of the most popular sites used. According to blogger Ali Novruzov, social media will play a significant role during the election campaign, as IT remains the only free channels of information in Azerbaijan — and it certainly keeps the regime wary.

Several activists have been arrested for their protest activities on social networks. In public statements, high-ranking officials aggressively attack social media, calling it a “harmful phenomenon”. Fazail Agamaly, an Azerbaijani MP, publicly called for access to social networking websites in Azerbaijan to be blocked during a speech in Milli Majlis, the country’s parliament.

According to Turgut Gambar from the Nida Civic Movement, there has been a “wave of unprecedented attacks” against recent pro-democracy protests organised by Azerbaijani youth. On 3 April, Nida reported that seven of its members are currently imprisoned and are being held in prison for three months in pre-trial custody. They include activists Shahin Novruzlu, Mammad Azizov and Bakhtiyar Guliyev, arrested on 7 March for alleged possession of drugs and molotov cocktails; NIDA board members Mammad Azizov, Rashad Hasanov Rashadat Akhundov and Uzeyir Mammadli, arrested on 7 March, 14 March and 30 March; and blogger and activist Zaur Gurbanli, arrested on 1 April.

The war declared by the regime on social media became more serious after street protests — organised by young people through Facebook — on 10 March .

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Azerbaijan’s capital on 10 March

On the same day, Eynulla Fatullayev, the editor of haqqın.az website and a former political prisoner, published an investigation accusing the head of a local branch of National Democratic Institute (NDI), Alex Grigorievs, of sponsoring $2 million to the “Facebook revolution”, as the event has already been dubbed. Grigorievs has denied this, and Fatullayev’s colleagues have accused him of “turning pro-government”.

Azerbaijani authorities took the report seriously: not only was this reflected in the number of activists detained, but also in its decision to support those using social networks to show their allegiance to the government. On 16 March, president Ilham Aliyev allocated 5 million Azerbaijani manats (about £4.2 million) to fund activities of pro-governmental youth organisations in social networks.

But the blogger Ali Novruzov believes the authorities will not be able to coerce opinion on social media:

The government does not control the internet and is not really able to; this is why they are afraid of new technologies and are paranoid about ‘Facebook revolutions’ and alleged millions spent on mobilising the youth in social networks. The regime understands that with one million Azerbaijanis being on Facebook and able to impart and receive uncensored information, it will be difficult to implement their election scenario.

Idrak Abbasov is a journalist from Azerbaijan and a 2012 Index Award winner

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Both resolutions were connected with long-awaited reports by PACE rapporteurs, and both contained recommendations from the body to the Azerbaijani authorities to improve the human rights situation in the country. PACE’s split approach to the two resolutions was the result of a carefully crafted lobbying strategy by the Azerbaijani delegation, which supported the somewhat-critical first resolution and the monitoring report on Azerbaijan — using it to make the second resolution on the more sensitive issue of political prisoners look both biased and unnecessary.

International and Azerbaijani rights groups viewed the defeat of the political prisoner resolution as deeply disappointing — particularly to those unjustly behind bars in the country who had high hopes pinned to its passage – and as a failure by the Council of Europe to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its obligations as a member state. The vote also has dangerous implications for the future of member states’ cooperation with PACE rapporteurs, as the body turned a blind eye to the Azerbaijani authorities’ refusal to issue a visa to Christoph Straesser, PACE’s special rapporteur for political prisoners in Azerbaijan — a fact that was then used to undermine the report’s credibility.

As Human Rights House Foundation Executive Director Maria Dahle emphasised in a press conference following the vote, the fact that the resolution did not pass does not mean that there are not political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Although it is true — as pointed out by opponents during the debate on the resolution — that many of the alleged political prisoners included in the original report have since been released, there have been new cases in their wake, as outlined in the report’s addendum, which many of the speakers who took the floor during the debate seemed to have not read. The real problem is the lack of political will of the authorities to improve the freedom of expression situation in the country, allowing for continued persecution of those who express critical opinions.

Indeed, there are a number of cases of journalists, human rights defenders, and activists currently in prison or detention in connection with exercising their right to freedom of expression, including Ilham Amiraslanov, Vugar Gonagov, Zaur Guliyev, Hilal Mammadov, Faramaz Novruzoglu and Avaz Zeynalli. Dayanat Babayev, Ogtay Gulaliyev, and Mehman Huseynov also face jail-time if convicted of politically motivated charges of hooliganism.

In failing to support the political prisoner resolution, PACE failed to take a stand on human rights and freedom of expression in Azerbaijan at a pivotal moment for the country’s relations with the Council of Europe. But all is not lost. As pointed out by UK MP Christopher Chope during the debate on the resolution, Straesser’s work has already resulted in the release of many persons he identified as potential cases of political prisoners and it also ensured that the monitoring report contained language on political prisoners.

PACE should use all available mechanisms to hold Azerbaijan — and indeed all member states — accountable for their Council of Europe obligations. The monitoring report contains important recommendations on human rights and freedom of expression issues, such as ending prosecution of those who express critical opinions and effectively investigating all cases of attacks against journalists and bringing the perpetrators to justice – including the murders of Elmar Huseynov and Rafiq Tagi. Failure to follow up on these and other key recommendations will serve to further damage the Council of Europe’s already weakening image as a body that promotes and protects human rights.

Rebecca Vincent is a freelance human rights consultant and an expert on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan

Index on Censorship and Crow Hill Films invite you to a screening of Amazing Azerbaijan! followed by a discussion on Azerbaijan and human rights on 30 January.

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