03 May 16 | About Index, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan News, Azerbaijan Statements, Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
On World Press Freedom Day, 3 May 2016, Azerbaijan’s independent media is under greater attack than ever before.
The undersigned members of the Sport for Rights coalition condemn the Azerbaijani authorities’ relentless crackdown on the independent media and other critical voices. Sport for Rights calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to implement immediate and concrete steps to improve freedom of expression in the country, starting with the unconditional release of UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize winner Khadija Ismayilova and Azerbaijan’s other jailed journalists, bloggers, and other political prisoners.
Despite the recent releases of 16 political prisoners, dozens remain jailed for political reasons in Azerbaijan. Among them are journalists Nijat Aliyev, Araz Guliyev, Seymur Hezi, and Khadija Ismayilova; bloggers Abdul Abilov, Faraj Karimov, Rashad Ramazanov, and Ilkin Rustemzade; and others targeted in connection with exercising their right to freedom of expression, such as opposition Republican Alternative (REAL) movement leader Ilgar Mammadov.
The authorities’ pressure on journalist Khadija Ismayilova has been particularly relentless. She has been extensively targeted for exposing corruption of President Aliyev’s family and other ruling elite, topics recently brought into the spotlight again by the Panama Papers leaks. Ismayilova is currently serving a 7.5-year prison sentence on spurious charges of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of power.
“The continued imprisonment of Khadija Ismayilova and other journalists is unacceptable and undermines any goodwill generated by the recent releases of political prisoners in Azerbaijan. UNESCO’s decision to award Ismayilova the World Press Freedom Prize should serve to inspire renewed international calls for her release. The Azerbaijani government must free Ismayilova and cease its attack on critical voices”, said Jesper Højberg, Executive Director of International Media Support.
At the same time, the Azerbaijani authorities have shown that their revolving-door policy of politically motivated arrests is still in place. On 30 March, 79-year old writer Akram Aylisli was detained at the Baku airport on the way to a literary festival in Italy. He was questioned for 12 hours and told he was under a travel ban. Aylisli now faces up to three years in jail on spurious charges of violently resisting authorities.
The Azerbaijan Prosecutor General’s Office has also opened a criminal case against Meydan TV, an independent online media outlet based in Berlin that provides alternative news coverage of Azerbaijan. Meydan TV is being investigated for alleged illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of power. Fifteen journalists have been specifically named in the investigation, many of whom remain in the country, now under travel bans, and face the very real threat of imprisonment. Meydan TV’s staff based abroad have also been targeted through threats and extensive pressure on their relatives, including job dismissal and politically motivated detention.
“A diverse and pluralistic media is a hallmark of a democratic and progressive state. The renewed crackdown on Meydan TV, alongside repression of other critical media outlets, demonstrates the Azerbaijani government’s unwillingness to tolerate any criticism and a total failure to commit to systemic and genuine reforms that would enable freedom of expression for all”, said Thomas Hughes, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19.
All of this occurs against the backdrop of a broader crackdown on freedom of expression and other human rights in Azerbaijan. Other independent media and NGOs working to promote free expression have been targeted in recent years, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Baku bureau and the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety. The state completely dominates the broadcast media, and one of the few remaining critical newspapers, Azadliq, has been forced to suspend publication of its print edition and teeters on the brink of closure. Violent attacks against journalists – including murders – are committed with impunity, resulting in a climate of fear for the independent media.
The Sport for Rights coalition calls for the Azerbaijani authorities to take immediate and concrete steps to cease this persecution of the independent media, starting with the unconditional release of Khadija Ismayilova and Azerbaijan’s other political prisoners. Sport for Rights also calls for sustained international attention to the broader human rights crackdown in the country, especially in the run-up to the Formula One European Grand Prix, which will take place in Baku from 17 to 19 June. The Azerbaijani government must be held accountable for its international human rights obligations.
Supporting organisations:
ARTICLE 19
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Civil Rights Defenders
Committee to Protect Journalists
Freedom Now
Human Rights House Foundation
Index on Censorship
Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
International Media Support
International Partnership for Human Rights
NESEHNUTI
Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Norwegian Helsinki Committee
PEN America
PEN International
People in Need
Reporters Without Borders
YouAid Foundation
19 Apr 16 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Letters, Campaigns, Europe and Central Asia, mobile, Statements
Dear Mr Williams,
We are writing to you as members of the Sport for Rights campaign, which has been working to raise human rights violations in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the Formula One European Grand Prix. We are deeply disappointed by your decision to perform in Baku on 19 June in connection with the European Grand Prix, given the dire human rights situation in the country. We urge you to take a stand for human rights in Azerbaijan and cancel your Baku performance.
We have observed your support for the respect for the fundamental freedoms of all people, such as your comments at the United Nations on the International Day of Happiness last March, where you stated, “Happiness is your birthright”. You spoke out again in October dedicating your song “Freedom” to the refugee crisis in Europe, saying, “Freedom is something you’re born with. No one has to give it to you”.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for the people of Azerbaijan, whose rights have not been respected or protected. Although 16 political prisoners were recently released, dozens still languish in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists, bloggers, youth activists, politicians, and religious followers guilty of nothing more than disagreeing with the government. Despite the fact that they never should have spent a single day in jail, the released prisoners have not been rehabilitated, still under legal restrictions that impede their work and their lives, with some facing travel bans preventing them from accessing urgently needed medical attention. More broadly, civil society is attempting to work in nearly impossible conditions, and a number of NGOs face politically motivated criminal investigations. Journalists operate in a climate of fear, in a media environment dominated by the state, where violent attacks – even murders – against critical voices are committed with impunity.
Among Azerbaijan’s political prisoners is Khadija Ismayilova, a courageous investigative journalist targeted for exposing corruption of the ruling elite through stories that are continuing to unravel through the Panama Papers leak. Another journalist, Seymur Hezi, is jailed on trumped-up hooliganism charges, following years of pressure against him, such as being abducted and tortured, and warned to stop criticising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov, who attempted to challenge Aliyev’s presidency in 2013, has been imprisoned for over three years, and has reported being repeatedly tortured. Youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade has also been jailed for more than three years, initially arrested in connection with a “Harlem Shake” video filmed in Baku.
As with previous prestige events, the Azerbaijani authorities are using the European Grand Prix in an attempt to whitewash their image, to distract international attention from the human rights abuses taking place in the country. Whether or not it is your intention, your performance would be used as part of that cover-up, as propaganda for an increasingly authoritarian government. Although you hope for your music to bring happiness to people all over the world, a performance in Azerbaijan would serve to further the suffering of the country’s political prisoners, and the many others whose rights have been violated by the very government that will profit from the European Grand Prix.
But you still have the chance to make this right. We urge you to cancel your Baku performance, and to speak out publicly, condemning the human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan, and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.
We call your attention to comments made by U2 lead singer Bono on stage in Montreal last June, on the night of the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku. Bono specifically named six Azerbaijani political prisoners, displayed their photos in the arena, and conveyed a message to President Aliyev: “If anything happens to one of our friends, we will hold you responsible!” Five of the prisoners he named have since been released. We believe that you taking a strong stand for human rights could also have a significant impact.
Please, have some compassion for these courageous people, imprisoned for speaking the truth and trying to change the situation in Azerbaijan for the better. Show the world that you care, and that your silence cannot be bought.
Sincerely yours,
Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator, Sport for Rights campaign
Mike Harris, Director, 89up
Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19
Alice Klein, President, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect
Journalists
Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now
Danuta Przywara, President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy, Human Rights House Foundation
Melody Patry, Senior Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship
Emin Huseynov, Director, Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Brigitte Dufour, Director, International Partnership for Human Rights
James Marriott, Co-Director, Platform
Petra Havlikova, Project Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Are Human Rights
Program, NESEHNUTI
Berit Lindeman, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Helsinki Committee
Karin Karlekar, Director, Free Expression Programs, PEN America
Ivana Skalova, Head of the East European Program, People in Need
Aleksandra Antonowicz-Cyglicka, Head of Programme, Action for the Global
South, Polish Green Network
Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Łukasz Biernacki, Managing Director, You Aid Foundation
Dear Mr Iglesias,
We are writing to you as members of the Sport for Rights campaign, which has been working to raise human rights violations in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the Formula One European Grand Prix. We are deeply disappointed by your decision to perform in Baku on 18 June in connection with the European Grand Prix, given the dire human rights situation in the country. We urge you to take a stand for human rights in Azerbaijan and cancel your Baku performance.
We have observed your support for charitable causes, including Save the Children, which advocates the promotion and protection of human rights. Unfortunately, the human rights of the people of Azerbaijan have not been respected or protected. Although 16 political prisoners were recently released, dozens still languish in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists, bloggers, youth activists, politicians, and religious followers guilty of nothing more than disagreeing with the government. Despite the fact that they never should have spent a single day in jail, the released prisoners have not been rehabilitated, still under legal restrictions that impede their work and their lives, with some facing travel bans preventing them from accessing urgently needed medical attention. More broadly, civil society is attempting to work in nearly impossible conditions, and a number of NGOs face politically motivated criminal investigations. Journalists operate in a climate of fear, in a media environment dominated by the state, where violent attacks – even murders – against critical voices are committed with impunity.
Among Azerbaijan’s political prisoners is Khadija Ismayilova, a courageous investigative journalist targeted for exposing corruption of the ruling elite through stories that are continuing to unravel through the Panama Papers leak. Another journalist, Seymur Hezi, is jailed on trumped-up hooliganism charges, following years of pressure against him, such as being abducted and tortured, and warned to stop criticising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov, who attempted to challenge Aliyev’s presidency in 2013, has been imprisoned for over three years, and has reported being repeatedly tortured. Youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade has also been jailed for more than three years, initially arrested in connection with a “Harlem Shake” video filmed in Baku.
As with previous prestige events, the Azerbaijani authorities are using the European Grand Prix in an attempt to whitewash their image, to distract international attention from the human rights abuses taking place in the country. Whether or not it is your intention, your performance would be used as part of that cover-up, as propaganda for an increasingly authoritarian government. A performance in Azerbaijan would serve to further the suffering of the country’s political prisoners, and the many others whose rights have been violated by the very government that will profit from the European Grand Prix.
But you still have the chance to make this right. We urge you to cancel your Baku performance, and to speak out publicly, condemning the human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan, and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.
We call your attention to comments made by U2 lead singer Bono on stage in Montreal last June, on the night of the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku. Bono specifically named six Azerbaijani political prisoners, displayed their photos in the arena, and conveyed a message to President Aliyev: “If anything happens to one of our friends, we will hold you responsible!” Five of the prisoners he named have since been released. We believe that you taking a strong stand for human rights could also have a significant impact.
Please, have some compassion for these courageous people, imprisoned for speaking the truth and trying to change the situation in Azerbaijan for the better. Show the world that you care, and that your silence cannot be bought.
Sincerely yours,
Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator, Sport for Rights campaign
Mike Harris, Director, 89up
Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19
Alice Klein, President, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect
Journalists
Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now
Danuta Przywara, President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy, Human Rights House Foundation
Melody Patry, Senior Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship
Emin Huseynov, Director, Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Brigitte Dufour, Director, International Partnership for Human Rights
James Marriott, Co-Director, Platform
Petra Havlikova, Project Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Are Human Rights
Program, NESEHNUTI
Berit Lindeman, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Helsinki Committee
Karin Karlekar, Director, Free Expression Programs, PEN America
Ivana Skalova, Head of the East European Program, People in Need
Aleksandra Antonowicz-Cyglicka, Head of Programme, Action for the Global
South, Polish Green Network
Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Łukasz Biernacki, Managing Director, You Aid Foundation
Dear Mr Brown,
We are writing to you as members of the Sport for Rights campaign, which has been working to raise human rights violations in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the Formula One European Grand Prix. We are deeply disappointed by your decision to perform in Baku on 17 June in connection with the European Grand Prix, given the dire human rights situation in the country. We urge you to take a stand for human rights in Azerbaijan and cancel your Baku performance.
Azerbaijan is in the midst of an unprecedented human rights crackdown. Although 16 political prisoners were recently released, dozens still languish in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists, bloggers, youth activists, politicians, and religious followers guilty of nothing more than disagreeing with the government. Despite the fact that they never should have spent a single day in jail, the released prisoners have not been rehabilitated, still under legal restrictions that impede their work and their lives, with some facing travel bans preventing them from accessing urgently needed medical attention. More broadly, civil society is attempting to work in nearly impossible conditions, and a number of NGOs face politically motivated criminal investigations. Journalists operate in a climate of fear, in a media environment dominated by the state, where violent attacks – even murders – against critical voices are committed with impunity.
Among Azerbaijan’s political prisoners is Khadija Ismayilova, a courageous investigative journalist targeted for exposing corruption of the ruling elite through stories that are continuing to unravel through the Panama Papers leak. Another journalist, Seymur Hezi, is jailed on trumped-up hooliganism charges, following years of pressure against him, such as being abducted and tortured, and warned to stop criticising Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov, who attempted to challenge Aliyev’s presidency in 2013, has been imprisoned for over three years, and has reported being repeatedly tortured. Youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade has also been jailed for more than three years, initially arrested in connection with a “Harlem Shake” video filmed in Baku.
As with previous prestige events, the Azerbaijani authorities are using the European Grand Prix in an attempt to whitewash their image, to distract international attention from the human rights abuses taking place in the country. Whether or not it is your intention, your performance would be used as part of that cover-up, as propaganda for an increasingly authoritarian government. A performance in Azerbaijan would serve to further the suffering of the country’s political prisoners, and the many others whose rights have been violated by the very government that will profit from the European Grand Prix.
But you still have the chance to make this right. We urge you to cancel your Baku performance, and to speak out publicly, condemning the human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan, and calling for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.
We call your attention to comments made by U2 lead singer Bono on stage in Montreal last June, on the night of the opening ceremony of the European Games in Baku. Bono specifically named six Azerbaijani political prisoners, displayed their photos in the arena, and conveyed a message to President Aliyev: “If anything happens to one of our friends, we will hold you responsible!” Five of the prisoners he named have since been released. We believe that you taking a strong stand for human rights could also have a significant impact.
Please, have some compassion for these courageous people, imprisoned for speaking the truth and trying to change the situation in Azerbaijan for the better. Show the world that you care, and that your silence cannot be bought.
Sincerely yours,
Rebecca Vincent, Coordinator, Sport for Rights campaign
Mike Harris, Director, 89up
Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19
Alice Klein, President, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator, Committee to Protect
Journalists
Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now
Danuta Przywara, President of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy, Human Rights House Foundation
Melody Patry, Senior Advocacy Officer, Index on Censorship
Emin Huseynov, Director, Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Brigitte Dufour, Director, International Partnership for Human Rights
James Marriott, Co-Director, Platform
Petra Havlikova, Project Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Are Human Rights
Program, NESEHNUTI
Berit Lindeman, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Helsinki Committee
Karin Karlekar, Director, Free Expression Programs, PEN America
Ivana Skalova, Head of the East European Program, People in Need
Aleksandra Antonowicz-Cyglicka, Head of Programme, Action for the Global
South, Polish Green Network
Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Łukasz Biernacki, Managing Director, You Aid Foundation
18 Mar 16 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Statements, Campaigns, Statements
We, the undersigned members of the Sport for Rights coalition, express our relief over the release of 15 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Human rights defender Rasul Jafarov, the founder of the Sport for Rights campaign, stepped out from Baku’s Prison Number 10 into freedom on 17 March after spending 593 days unjustly jailed. The same day, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in Jafarov’s case, acknowledging that his arrest and detention were politically motivated.
Jafarov was one of 14 political prisoners included in a presidential pardon decree signed on 17 March. The other political prisoners pardoned through that decree included journalists Parviz Hashimli, Hilal Mammadov, and Tofig Yagublu; human rights defenders Taleh Khasmammadov and Anar Mammadli; NIDA civic movement activists Rashadat Akhundov, Mahammad Azizov and Rashad Hasanov; bloggers Siraj Karimli and Omar Mammadov; former government official Akif Muradverdiyev; chairman of the National Statehood party Nemat Penahli; and Musavat party activist Yadigar Sadigov.
A further political prisoner, journalist Rauf Mirkadirov, was released on 17 March by the Baku Court of Appeals, which commuted his six-year prison sentence into a suspended five-year sentence. Mirkadirov had been unjustly jailed since April 2014 on politically motivated treason charges.
“We are incredibly relieved for those released yesterday, including Rasul Jafarov, who was arrested in August 2014 after launching our campaign to draw attention to human rights abuses taking place in Azerbaijan. But none of these 15 people ever should have been arrested in the first place, and dozens more remain unjustly jailed now, neglected by this pardon decree. They must be released, and this vicious cycle of politically motivated arrests must end”, said Rebecca Vincent, coordinator of the Sport for Rights campaign.
While the release of these political prisoners was the right step, we note that they never should have spent a single day in jail. Further, dozens of other political prisoners remain in Azerbaijani jails, including journalists Khadija Ismayilova and Seymur Hezi, human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, youth activist Ilkin Rustemzade, and opposition REAL movement leader Ilgar Mammadov, whose release has been ordered by the European Court of Human Rights.
We reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, and for an end to the cycle of politically motivated arrests in Azerbaijan. We urge the international community to continue to press for the release of the remaining political prisoners as a matter of urgent priority, and for further concrete reforms to improve the country’s dire human rights situation.
Supporting organisations:
ARTICLE 19
Civil Rights Defenders
Committee to Protect Journalists
Freedom Now
Front Line Defenders
Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Human Rights House Foundation
Index on Censorship
Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
International Media Support
International Partnership for Human Rights
NESEHNUTI
Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Norwegian Helsinki Committee
PEN America
People in Need
Platform
Polish Green Network
Reporters Without Borders
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
