Investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova was among journalists and free expression advocates at the Frontline Club yesterday discussing the deteriorating situation for freedom of expression and human rights in Azerbaijan in the run up the Eurovision Song Contest — and to highlight the importance of keeping up pressure on the government after one of the biggest pop events of the year has passed.

The press event, which highlighted violence against critical voices and the government’s aggressive progamme of urban redevelopment, coincided with the publication of the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan‘s (IPGA)’s report Running Scared: Azerbaijan’s Silenced Voices, a joint report by Index on Censorship, ARTICLE 19, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and other campaigning and press freedom organisations.

Ismayilova, who spoke about the recent blackmailing campaign against her, widely accepted to be retaliation for her investigative journalism into corruption, was one of the panellists. On 7 March, Ismayilova was threatened in the most conventional of ways — she received a collection of intimate photographs through the post, with a note warning her to “behave” or she would be “defamed”. But authorities seriously miscalculated both her response and those of her family members.

They assumed, said Ismayilova, that, like some other journalists who have suffered similar blackmail campaigns,  she would bow to pressure and temper her reports. But Ismayilova went public with her story.  Days later, on 14 March 2012, an intimate video of Ismayilova filmed by a hidden camera was posted to the internet.

Exposing Ismayilova in this way was particularly vicious, as honour killings still take place in Azerbaijan and the authorities would have been well aware that Ismayilova’s life could potentially be in serious danger. Ismayilova demanded an immediate investigation.

In They Took Everything From Me, Human Rights Watch documents how residents have been forcibly evicted without reasonable notice and chronicles the demolition of homes. Senior Researcher for the organisation’s Europe and Central Asia Division Giorgi Gogai said the government had denied any residential properties had been destroyed to make way for Eurovision-related building work.

Media expert Vugar Gojayev spoke about the ways in which political life has shrunk in Azerbaijan, made worse by last year’s closure of the Human Rights House in Baku – the centre had been an important place for writers and civil society activists to meet. Outside the capital, things are worse. There are no opposition newspapers or opposition parties and most public gatherings are banned.

Azerbaijan works hard to present itself as a modern, democratic country with excellent business opportunities for multinational corporations. But recent attacks against journalists and activists reveal a government unwilling to hear the voices of its people: there are approximately 60 political prisoners in the country at the moment.

The IPGA’s report also examines the significant gap between the image the government is trying to promote and the situation on the ground and Index’s Head of Advocacy Mike Harris examines how the Azerbaijani government strives to influence opinion not only among the international business community but also, crucially, at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the political branch of the Council of Europe.

On Wednesday, Index’s Freedom of Expression Awards celebrates journalists, activists, innovators and artists working on the frontline for free speech.

Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov, who has reported on the activities of an Azerbaijani oil company and whose home was targeted in retaliation, is on the shortlist for the journalism awards.

Click here to download the report and to read more about the free expression crisis in Azerbaijan

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Punishing dissent
Prior to his arrest in April 2007, Fatullayev — an investigative journalist and staunch critic of the Azerbaijani government — was the chief-editor of two of the country’s most outspoken and popular newspapers, Realniy Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan. He is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for defamation, terrorism and tax evasion offences. Both of his newspapers were effectively closed in May 2007.

In a letter addressed to the international community last week, Fatullayev said, “I am on open-ended hunger strike to demand my immediate release from jail, as I do not see any other ways to protect my rights”. Expressing solidarity with Fatullayev, a group of opposition journalists have also gone on hunger strikes, urging the ECHR verdict be implemented.

International rights groups call the charges against Fatullayev fabricated and politically motivated. Last week, 11 international human rights and media watchdogs — including Index on Censorship — issued a joint media report on Azerbaijan and also sent an open letter to President Aliyev demanding the immediate release of Fatullayev. The report highlighted the state’s failure to honour its international obligations to promote and protect freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. “The actions taken by the Azerbaijani authorities to restrict freedom of expression have significantly damaged Azerbaijan’s international reputation, placing it firmly in the camp of ‘worst offenders’,” the report said.

The authorities effectively use criminal libel and defamation charges to obstruct investigative journalism, prevent public debate and stifle open criticism of the government. Alongside Fatullayev, there are two young bloggers who remain behind bars on dubious charges. Last week Azerbaijan was ranked 146th out of 175 countries in Reporters Sans Frontieres’ latest Press Freedom Index.

Paralysed media in pre-election period
With less than two weeks to go until Azerbaijan’s parliamentary poll, the state’s tight grip on the media and its hostility toward independent and opposition views will prevent a free and fair election. Journalists, human rights defenders and opposition activists who publicly criticise the government risk violence, threats and arrest. Opposition journalists acknowledge that they frequently self-censor, avoiding criticism of government policy out of fear of potential legal and physical repercussions.

Citing the restrictive media environment ahead of elections, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe/Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights Election Observation Mission, the European bodies that will monitor the polls, said the de-facto government monopoly on broadcast media has ensured citizens get “very limited access to diverse political views in the broadcast media”. Aside from a small number of opposition dailies, the mainstream media totally fail to provide access to political opinions outside the current establishment. Most Azerbaijanis get information about socio-public events from the broadcast media, which were and are firmly under the control of the ruling regime. This effectively prevents the political opposition from mounting effective campaigns to mobilise citizens as voters, or as potential protesters against election fraud. In this election, even less information is available in the country after important and longstanding radio channels broadcasting independent information in Azerbaijani, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America and the BBC, lost their licences to broadcast on their normal FM frequencies in January 2009.

There is little space for opposition candidates to air their messages and the lack of public debate has long undermined the public’s trust in the legality of the elections. In fact no previous election in Azerbaijan has ever been judged as free and fair. The polls have always been damaged by the lack of press freedom, intervention by local authorities or police, restrictions on freedom of assembly and an electoral commission crammed with government supporters.

“A vibrant public debate is crucial to free and fair elections,” said Giorgi Gogia, South Caucasus researcher at Human Rights Watch. “But you can’t have a free and fair vote when the people who report the news are in jail or have been harassed into silence.”

Vugar Gojayev is a freelance journalist writing on the developments in the South Caucasus

Read a new report from Index on Censorship and partnership organisations, Azerbaijan: Free expression under attack

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Yesterday, the European Court Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Azerbaijani government must release imprisoned journalist Eynulla Fatullayev.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2007 after being convicted of defamation, terrorism and tax evasion charges, convictions human rights groups call politically motivated. The court ruled that Fatullayev was currently serving the sentence for offences which violate the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered that he be paid €25,000 as compensation. The ECHR affirmed that Fatullayev’s rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial have been contravened in Azerbaijan, which has been a member of the Council of Europe since 2001.

The news raised mixed hopes in Azeri society. Though the country’s authorities say they will challenge the ruling, human rights activists believe the government may be forced to comply with the judgment.

Fatullayev’s father was pleased with the verdict but expressed fears said the authorities might attempt to hamper Eynulla’s release from jail . “The ruling verified that my son was innocent and jailed just because of his journalistic activity. I thank the international community in their firm and objective stance and unanimous support,” he said. Well-known journalist Shahveled Chobanoglu argued that “the verdict was an important victory for the suppressed activists and outspoken journalists” in Azerbaijan, which has a long record of stifling at the media freedom and suppressing dissent.

But, the government seems a long way from accepting the ECHR’s verdict. Chingiz Esgerov, Azerbaijan’s representative in the ECHR, argued that “the ECHR has no authority to give orders to the courts of other countries” and “the country’s legislation does not envision the release of a prisoner only on a basis of the ECHR”. The government has vowed to take the case to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR “to support the interests of Azerbaijan Republic”. In practice, the decision of the ECHR comes into force within three months of its issuance provided that a motion is not presented to consider the case in the Grand Chamber.

Intigam Aliyev, a well-known lawyer said the verdict will not change, even if the authorities manage to appeal it before the Grand Chamber. “Regardless of any further court instances at the ECHR, the ultimate decision will be in favor of Fatullayev, as the gross violation of his rights is crystal-clear and was substantiated by the objective and professional lawyers of the ECHR”.

Read more on the Eynulla Fatullayev case and his most recent trial on “trumped up” drugs charges

Vugar Gojayev is a freelance journalist writing on the developments in the South Caucasus

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Prior to his arrest in 2007, Fatullayev was the chief-editor of country’s two most outspoken and highest circulated newspapers, Realniy Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan. He was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of defamation, terrorism and tax evasion charges, convictions human rights groups call politically-motivated. Both of his papers have been effectively closed since May 2007.

Azerbaijan has been a member of the Council of Europe since 2001, and in late December 2009, at a time when the European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) was planning to hear an appeal of Fatullayev’s 2007 convictions, Azeri prosecutors brought a fresh drug-possession charge against Fatullayev, who strongly rejects the accusations and says the drugs were intentionally planted on him.

The Azeri authorities claim prison guards found 0.223 grams of heroin in Fatullayev’s shoes and jacket at Penitentiary #12 — a high-security prison. He has been charged under article 234.1 of Criminal Code (illegal purchase or storage without a purpose of selling narcotics or psychotropic substances in an amount exceeding necessary limit for personal consumption). Miklos Haraszti, formally the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s representative on press freedom has said that he “visited Eynulla Fatullayev twice in his high security-prison and find[s] allegations of heroin smuggling or possession highly improbable.”

Azeri commentators believe the ECHR decision — expected shortly —- would go against the government and would call for Fatullayev’s immediate release. “Knowing this”, says an opposition journalist, “the authorities invented the new charges to ensure Fatullayev remains in jail no matter what the ECHR decision found.” Naming Fatullayev a “prisoner of consciousness”, Amnesty International argued the drugs charges have been brought as part of an attempt to discredit him further while his case is being reviewed by the ECHR. Fatullayev’s lawyer, Elchin Sadigov thinks the “trumped-up charges were set up by the authorities to prevent the decision of the ECHR in near future”.

Fatullayev has a history of persecution in Azerbaijan, including threats, attacks, and persecution for his writings. Based on his account and the Azerbaijani authorities’ long record of planting drugs to silence the regime critics, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called the charges “fabricated” and “intended to prolong Fatullayev’s stay behind the bars”. Similarly, when another opposition journalist Mirza Sakit was sentenced to three years in jail in 2006 for allegedly “selling and using heroin” charges, the human rights groups argued the drugs were planted on Sakit during an illegal police search designed to silence him.

Fatullayev’s case was again in spotlight recently when he made a statement accusing the Ministry of National Security (MNS) of masterminding the murder of opposition journalist Elmar Huseynov in March 2005. The ministry said the accusations were “slanderous, irresponsible and illogical” and interrogated the editors of leading mass media, including Azadliq Radio, Turan News Agency, and the Musavat and Azadliq newspapers concerning the reasons for the publication of Fatullayev’s sensational statements by these media outlets.

International right groups have repeatedly raised their concerns about the government’s absolute grip on the media and the deteriorating climate of impunity against opposition journalists. Azerbaijan continues to show a downtrend trajectory in international media freedom indexes, with Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) ranking Azerbaijan 146^th out of 175 countries in 2009.

As the judiciary system in Azerbaijan remains highly corrupt, and notorious for being totally dependent on the executive — often issuing political decisions — few believe the court will fairly investigate the drug charges against Fatullayev. “During the trial”, says Fatullayev’s lawyer, “we will do our best to prove that this conviction is utterly unfounded”.

Vugar Gojayev is a freelance journalist writing on the developments in the South Caucasus

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