Index on Censorship » President Ilham Aliyev http://www.indexoncensorship.org for free expression Fri, 17 May 2013 16:22:15 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 for free expression Index on Censorship no for free expression Index on Censorship » President Ilham Aliyev http://www.indexoncensorship.org/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/Free_Speech_Bites_Logo.jpg http://www.indexoncensorship.org Azerbaijan anti-censorship petition goes to Houses of Parliament http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/07/azerbaijan-petition-parliament/ http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/07/azerbaijan-petition-parliament/#comments Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:00:34 +0000 Index on Censorship http://www.indexoncensorship.org/?p=38208 British MPs back Index campaign to protect free speech in Eurovision host state

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]]> 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.

During the Eurovision Song Contest, Index on Censorship launched a petition to support free speechwhich was signed by over 4,000 people, from all over the world, including Britain’s Lord Ken MacDonald QC, Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir and Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab. The petition was tweeted on the night by high-profile UK figures including  journalists Owen Jones and Caitlin Moran and comedy performers and writers Stephen Fry and Graham Linehan.

Today Azerbaijani writer and activist Emin Milli met British parliamentarians to get their support for the petition, which calls on Aliyev end violations of free speech in Azerbaijan.

Emin Milli presenting the petition to Helen Goodman MP, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP and Grahame Morris MP, alongside Natasha Schmidt from Index on Censorship and Murad Gassanly from the Azerbaijan Democratic Association

A letter has now been sent to President Aliyev with the petition, co-signed by Index on Censorship, ARTICLE 19, Media Diversity Institute, Committee To Protect Journalists, Freedom House, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Human Rights House Foundation and PEN International. It calls on the Azerbaijani president to:

  • Ensure the protection of his citizens’ rights, particularly the rights to free expression and freedom of assembly
  • End impunity for those who commit crimes against journalists, and allow media workers to go about their work without fear of violence or arrest

You can find more about the human rights situation on Index’s Meanwhile in Azerbaijan page, or on the IPGA website.

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]]> http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/07/azerbaijan-petition-parliament/feed/ 0 Azerbaijan: Musicians tortured http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/03/azerbaijan-musicians-tortured/ http://www.indexoncensorship.org/2012/03/azerbaijan-musicians-tortured/#comments Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:52:02 +0000 Marta Cooper http://www.indexoncensorship.org/?p=34154 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 [...]

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]]> 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.

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