{"id":51650,"date":"2013-10-02T13:51:58","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T12:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/?p=51650"},"modified":"2017-03-27T16:15:55","modified_gmt":"2017-03-27T15:15:55","slug":"azerbaijan-locks-journalists-prepares-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/?p=51650","title":{"rendered":"Azerbaijan locks up journalists as it prepares for “election”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An

An opposition protest in Baku, September 2013 (Image Demotix\/Aziz Karimov)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The tone was set the day we arrived in Azerbaijan, 17 September 2013. Journalist Parviz Hashimli, was arrested and detained by officers of the Ministry of National Security after a raid on the office of newspaper Bizim Yol.<\/p>\n

Hashimli is an influential journalist as the editor of Moderator.az website and chair of the Center for Protection of Political and Civil Rights. He was accused of drugs smuggling and the illegal possession of weapons. According to the Institute for Reporters\u2019 Freedom and Safety (IRFS) in Baku, \u201cit is unclear exactly what prompted the arrest of Hashimli and raid on BizimYol newspaper. However, some experts believe it was linked to a series of leaks reporting on developments in the state machinery, published shortly before his arrest on www.moderator.az<\/a> news source.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human rights activists that we met believe that Hashimli\u2019s arrest is yet another attempt to intimidate the press in the run-up to the October election. This week, the editor of Tolyshi Sado newspaper, Hilal Mamedov, was sentenced<\/a> to five years in prison.<\/p>\n

At least eight journalists<\/a> are currently imprisoned in retaliation for their reporting on sensitive issues. This is the backdrop to Azerbaijan\u2019s election next week, an election that is being fought in one of the least free countries on earth.<\/p>\n

Journalists are not the only group affected by arrests under fabricated charges. Youth movements have been particularly targeted since March 2013. Index met with relatives of some of the seven NIDA members arrested last March and April for \u201cdrug possession\u201d or \u201csuspicion of inciting violence\u201d. NIDA is a youth movement calling for more democracy in Azerbaijan. The seven members arrested were particularly active on social media and known for their criticism of the authorities.<\/p>\n

On 19 September, we met former Index on Censorship award winner Rashid Hajili, who is a lawyer and chair of the Media Rights Institute. \u201cSince 2003, the situation has gradually worsened,\u201d says Hajili. While the human rights situation is deteriorating on the eve of the presidential elections, Hajili sees the situation as the result of a decade-long \u201cshift toward authoritarianism\u201d. Not only have the authorities of the country ignored their international commitments \u2013 such as decriminalising defamation \u2013 but they have adopted legislation imposing new restrictions on fundamental freedoms.<\/p>\n

\"Rashid

Rashid Hajili with his Index on Censorship Award (Image: Melody Patry)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In May, Azerbaijan\u2019s parliament adopted regressive legislation extending criminal defamation provisions to online content. Azerbaijanis now face potential fines of up to AZN 1,000 (approximately USD $1,280), or prison sentences of up to three years for items they post online, including on Facebook. The chilling effect is so severe that individuals refrain from even \u201cliking a friend\u2019s controversial status\u201d, says a young Azeri. \u201cWe are aware that social media are monitored,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

As the Aliyev regime tightens the screws<\/a>, space for free expression is shrinking and prospects for free and fair elections grow slimmer. Three years after receiving Index\u2019s Law and Campaigning Award, Rashid Hajili is still busy fighting repression against the right to freedom of expression in the country. The number of his clients prosecuted for being critical to the government keeps increasing. \u201cThere is very limited space for free expression,\u201d says Hajili. \u201cMany independent or critical voices go online, to online newspapers and to social media\u201d. But the online space is not safe. While many in the civil society or international diplomacy have denounced criminal prosecutions for online publications, and intimidation of journalists, Azerbaijan routinely ignores criticism of its human rights record by international bodies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the run-up to next week\u2019s presidential elections, Index on Censorship travelled to Baku to meet journalists, human rights defenders, political activists, and citizens. Melody Patry reports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[8867,581],"tags":[115,986,4423,4589,5076],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51650"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51650"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88079,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51650\/revisions\/88079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indexoncensorship.org\/newsite02may\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}