July 4th, 2012
The government of Azerbaijan, led by autocratic President Ilham Aliyev, thought the Eurovision Song Contest was the perfect opportunity to airbrush the country’s poor human rights record. Yet even after spending an estimated $750 million on Eurovision, thanks to Index on Censorship and its partners in the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA), the message got out that free speech is not protected in Aliyev’s Azerbaijan.
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April 25th, 2012
ADVOCACY LETTER
Dear President Aliyev,
Re: The brutal attack on Idrak Abbasov and assault of four other journalists on 18 April 2012
The Azerbaijani authorities must launch an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the brutal attack on investigative journalist Idrak Abbasov and the assault of journalist Gunay Musayeva on Wednesday 18 April 2012 in a village on the outskirts of Baku. The subsequent assaults on three other journalists, Esmira Javadova, Elnur Mammadov and Qalib Hasanov, who tried to report on the attacks against their colleagues, should also be part of this investigation.
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March 23rd, 2012
Two
Azerbaijani musicians who insulted the country’s president during a concert in Baku are said to have been
tortured by police while in detention. Jamal Ali of the band Bulustan criticised President Ilham Aliyev and his late mother during a concert at an opposition rally on Saturday. After an argument with concert organisers, he was dragged away by police with bandmate Natiq Kamilov and a third man. A court charged all three with hooliganism and sentenced them to 10 days’ detention. During the hearing the two musicians said they had been beaten by police and were refused contact with their families or lawyers.
