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Рахим Хациев, в то время действующий главный редактор азербайджанской газеты «Азадлыг» (Azadliq), принимает Награду за Свободу Слова в области журналистики от «Индекса цензуры» (Index on Censorship) в 2014 году (Фото Алекса Бреннера для «Индекса Цензуры»)
В тот вечер, когда Рахим Хациев принимал Награду за Свободу Слова в области журналистики (спонсор номинации газета «Зе Гардиан» (The Guardian)), он поднял высоко над головой копию газеты, которая выстояла несмотря на нападки со стороны правительства, чьи злодейства она освещала. Это был март 2014 года и Хациев, действующий главный редактор независимой азербайджанской газеты «Азадлыг», стоял на сцене в Лондоне. Он триумфально провозгласил: «Команда газеты решительно настроена продолжать эту священную работу – служить правде. Потому что в этом смысл того, что мы делаем, и смысл нашей жизни».
Четыре месяца спустя эта миссия была поставлена под угрозу запугиваниями, арестами и финансовыми ущемлениями за репортажи о правительственной коррупции. И это не впервые «Азадлыг» столкнулся с экономическим давлением со стоны дистрибьюторов, поддерживаемых правительством во главе с его лидером (четырежды избираемым на этот пост) Ильхамом Алиевым. Алиев обвиняется в авторитарном правлении и подавлении инакомыслия со времен вступления в должность в 2003 году.
Месяцы штрафов, превосходящих 50 000 фунтов стерлингов, и множественные аресты подавили газету, и она приостановила свое печатное издание в июле 2014 года. Среди других представителей гражданской общественности и независимых СМИ, обозреватель Сеймур Хези, коллега Хациева, пребывает в заключении за «отягчающий обстоятельства хулиганизм», проявленный им в попытке защитить себя от физического нападения. Множественные общественные протесты не были услышаны правительством.
Что касается этого года, то согласно индексу свободы прессы, составляемого «Репортёрами без границ», в данное время в Азербайджане в заключении находятся 165 журналистов. Ежемесячно в базе данных проекта «Маппинг Медиа Фридом» (Mapping Media Freedom), который следит за свободой СМИ, регистрируются доклады о насилии над инакомыслием в бывшей советской республике. Только в июле 2018 года в базе данных было зарегистрировано четыре заблокированных правительством за распространение дезинформации веб-сайта, допросы руководством двоих редакторов независимых новостных изданий и один арестованный за неповиновение полиции журналист.
В декабре 2017 года Высший Суд Азербайджана поддержал блокировку пяти независимых новостных веб-сайтов, включая Azadliq.info, действующий с марта 2017. Хациев раскритиковал этот шаг и охарактеризовал его как дополнительное препятствие для азербайджанского народа на пути к объективной информации.
Проживая в ссылке в западной Европе с 2017 года, Хациев рассказывал «Индексу»: «Четверо сотрудников нашего сайта в тюрьме. Их обвинили в хулиганстве и незаконных финансовых операциях. Их всех арестовали по сфабрикованным обвинениям. Все обвинения выдуманные».
Пребывая за рубежом, Хациев курирует страницу газеты в «Фейсбуке», пока она обновляется и есть в свободном доступе для читателей за пределами Азербайджана. Касательно нынешней ситуации в сфере свободы слова в родной стране, он говорил: «Ситуация в стране очень тяжелая. Власти продолжают притеснять демократически настроенных людей. Продолжаются аресты политических активистов и журналистов».
Хациев разговаривал с Шреей Парджан о текущей ситуации.
«Индекс»: «Азадлыг» единственная мишень? Почему её публикации воспринимались как такая угроза правительству?
Хациев: Мы не можем сказать, что только «Азадлыг» подверглась репрессиям. Азербайджанские власти очень коррумпированы, и они не терпят критики со стороны оппонентов. Коррумпированные и репрессивные режимы по всему миру подавляют свободу слова. В этом отношении власти Азербайджана, особенно в последнее время, находятся в рядах наиболее репрессивных в мире.
«Индекс»: Что заставило вас в конечном итоге решится покинуть Азербайджан и насколько сложным был этот процесс?
Хациев: Газета прекратила свою деятельность в сентябре 2012 года. Власти не разрешили «Азадлыг» печататься. В то время они не тронули сайт газеты. Я оставался в стране еще некоторое время. Мне жаль, что мне пришлось покинуть Азербайджан, но власти оказывали на меня очень сильное давление. Мои коллеги продолжали руководить веб-сайтом и страницей газеты в «Фейсбуке». Конечно, это трудный процесс. Быть вынужденным покинуть страну – очень неприятно. Мне пришлось пережить много проблем. Несмотря на это, я продолжал дело.
«Индекс»: Пока вы в ссылке, как вам удается продолжать работу и добиваться изменений?
Хациев: Во время ссылки я продолжаю руководить веб-сайтом и страницей газеты в «Фейсбуке». Находясь за пределами страны, я активно использую социальные сети. С одной стороны, я собираю информацию, а с другой стороны, я ее распространяю. Социальные сети помогают организовать работу и руководить ей. Наша страница в «Фейсбуке» одна из самых популярных в стране, и я горжусь нашим достижением.
«Индекс»: Могли бы вы указать на какие-то сообщества, оказавшие вам поддержку в ссылке? Какие обязанности существуют в иностранных корреспондентов касательно сотрудничества и поддержки друг друга в кризисные времена?
Хациев: Общение между журналистами, которые находятся за рубежом, – важно. Очень полезно делиться и опытом, и информацией. Было бы очень хорошо поговорить о работе с местными журналистами.
«Индекс»: Как подавление цифровой свободы противостоит правительственной истории о современном, свободном Азербайджане?
Хациев: Политический режим в Азербайджане сильно подавляет свободу слова. Согласно индексу свободы прессы, составляемого «Репортёрами без границ», Азербайджан занимает 163 место. В настоящее время страна переживает один из наиболее трудных периодов своей истории. Права и свободы граждан долго носили номинальный характер. В данное время в стране более 160 политических узников.
Rahim Haciyev, then acting editor-in-chief of Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq in accpting the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Journalism Award in 2014 (Photo: Alex Brenner for Index on Censorship)
On the night that Rahim Haciyev accepted the Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Guardian Journalism Award, he held aloft a copy of the paper that persevered despite assaults from the government whose misdoings it exposed. It was March 2014 and Haciyev, acting editor-in-chief of independent Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq, was on stage in London. Triumphantly, he declared: “The newspaper team is determined to continue this sacred job – serving the truth. Because this is the meaning of what we do and the meaning of our lives.”
Four months later, this mission was compromised by threats, arrests and financial constraints for reporting on government corruption. It was not the first time Azadliq experienced economic pressure from its government-backed distributors under Azerbaijan’s now four-term leader, Ilham Aliyev. Aliyev has long faced accusations of authoritarian rule and suppressing dissent since taking office in 2003.
But months of fines surpassing £50,000 and mounting arrests overwhelmed the paper, which suspended its print edition in July 2014. Among other members of civil society and the independent media, Haciyev’s colleague, columnist Seymur Hezi, remains imprisoned for “aggravated hooliganism” after defending himself from a physical assault. The public’s widespread protest went unheard by the government.
As of this year, Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index has documented that 165 journalists are currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Monthly, the Mapping Media Freedom database features reports on the former Soviet republic’s assault on dissenting speech. In July 2018 alone, MMF documented four opposition websites blocked by the government for spreading misinformation, two editors of independent news outlets questioned by authorities and one journalist arrested for disobeying the police.
In December 2017 a high court in Azerbaijan upheld the blockage of five independent media organisations’ websites, including Azadliq.info, active since March 2017. Haciyev criticised this move as further inhibiting the Azerbaijani people’s ability to access objective information.
Living in exile in western Europe since 2017, he told Index: “Four employees of our site are in prison. Our employees who are in prison were accused of hooliganism and illegal financial transactions. All of them were arrested on trumped-up charges. All the charges were fabricated.”
Haciyev oversees the paper’s Facebook page from abroad, while the website remains updated and accessible to readers outside Azerbaijan. Regarding the current status of free expression back home, he said: “The situation in the country is very difficult. The authorities continue to oppress democratically minded people. Arrests of political activists and journalists continue.”
Haciyev spoke with Index’s Shreya Parjan about the ongoing situation.
Index: Is Azadliq alone as a target? Why was the publication perceived as such a threat to the government?
Hajiyev:We can not say that only Azadliq was subjected to repression. Azerbaijani authorities are very corrupt and cannot tolerate criticism from their opponents. The corrupt and repressive regimes around the world suppress freedom of speech. In this regard, the Azerbaijani authorities, especially in recent years, have been in the ranks of the world’s most repressive.
Index: What ultimately made you decide to leave Azerbaijan and how difficult was the process?
Hajiyev:The newspaper ceased its operations in September 2012. The authorities have not allowed Azadliq to be published. At that time, they left the site of the newspaper. I stayed in the country for some time. I regret that I had to leave the country after the very strong pressure of the authorities. My colleague continued to lead the website and the Facebook page of the newspaper. Of course it is a difficult process. To be forced to leave the country [is a] very unpleasant affair. I had to endure a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, I continued the business.
Index: While in exile, how have you been able to continue your work and advocate for change?
Hajiyev: At this time in exile, I continue to guide the website and the Facebook page of the newspaper. Being outside the country, I actively use social networking. On the one hand, I gather information, on the other hand, I distribute it. Social networks help organise and conduct work. Our Facebook page is one of the most popular in the country, and I am proud of our achievement.
Index: Could you identify any supportive communities you have encountered with while in exile? What obligation do foreign journalists have to collaborate and support one another in times of crisis?
Hajiyev: Communication between journalists who are abroad is important. To share experiences and information would be useful. It would be very nice to be able to communicate work by local journalists.
Index: How does the crackdown on digital freedom oppose the government narrative of a modern, free Azerbaijan?
Hajiyev: In Azerbaijan, there is a political regime that strongly suppresses freedom of speech. According to the index of freedom of speech, composed Reporters Without Borders, Azerbaijan occupies the 163rd place. Azerbaijan is currently undergoing one of the most difficult times in its history. The rights and freedoms of citizens have long been of nominal character. There are now more than 160 political prisoners.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content”][vc_column][three_column_post title=”Global Journalist / Project Exile” full_width_heading=”true” category_id=”22142″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Rahim Haciyev, editor-in-chief of Azerbaijani newspaper Azadliq, accepts the 2014 Index Freedom of Expression Journalism Award. (Photo: Alex Brenner for Index on Censorship)
Rahim Haciyev, acting editor-in-chief of Azadliq, told Index why it’s important to keep the paper’s journalists reporting.
Why is it important for Azadliq to continue its mission?
Rahim Haciyev: Azadliq is an independent newspaper that fights for freedom of speech in Azerbaijan. In fact, the main job of the press is to provide readers with objective information. Freedom of speech is under severe pressure from the government. We at the newspaper fight for freedom as well as provide readers with objective information. Our activity is of great importance because we are the only remaining press agency inside Azerbaijan that challenges the government.
Why is the government trying to shut down the paper?
Rahim Haciyev: Azadliq always follows the “golden rule of journalism”, which is to only serve the truth. In a country with wide-scale corruption and sharp limitations to human rights and freedom, it should not be surprising that the only newspaper that publishes articles about all of these issues is under intense pressure. It is common for authoritarian regimes to restrict the freedom of speech and expression in order to silence press outlets which provide citizens with objective information. This is what the Azerbaijani government attempts to do. The newspaper pays great attention to the problem of political prisoners and continues to do so right now. Each issue of the newspaper contains photos of political prisoners that the government would rather people forget.
How many people are still contributing to the paper’s coverage?
Rahim Haciyev: Azadliq, as a daily newspaper, is facing severe financial constraints. Our small staff of 20 journalists are working under the dual threat of government harassment and financial insecurity. We can’t hire more journalists because the state-owned news distributor, Qasid, refuses to pay the paper for sales. Right now it owes us approximately $50,000, but is demanding we pay them $12,000. At the same time, a lot of journalists don’t want to work with us because of the real personal and professional risk of being associated with an opposition newspaper.
Click on the dots for more information on the incidents.
Each week, Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom project verifies threats, violations and limitations faced by the media throughout the European Union and neighbouring countries. Here are five recent reports that give us cause for concern.
A Baku prosecutor asked for an 8.5-year sentence for Rovshan and Rufat Zahidov, relatives of Azadliq (Radio Liberty) newspaper editor-in-chief Ganimat Zahid on charges of drug possession, the media outlet reported. Rufat and Rovshan Zahidovs were arrested in July 2015 and accused of the possession and sale of drugs. The hearing of the case began in February 2016. Ganimat Zahid lives in exile and runs Azerbaijan Hour online TV channel. Zahid served 28 months of a four- year sentence in retaliation for his critical journalism wrote CPJ following Zahid’s release in 2010. Zahid was convicted under articles 127.2.3 (hooliganism with intentional infliction of minor bodily harm) and 221 (hooliganism).
Police forces pushed, shoved and hit journalists with batons while dispersing a protest against the proposed labour law in Rennes, France 3 reported. The police charged the crowd from their cars, using tear gas against protesters and hitting them with batons, France 3 reported. Bruno Van Wassenhove, a France 3 reporter, explained journalists who had been criticising the violence of the assault were pushed to the side by the police officers and hit intermittently with batons. Rennes Press Club has firmly criticised the attacks against journalists perpetrated by the police. “Journalists were not targets but ‘they were hit by batons'”, the Club wrote on twitter, quoting an article of newspaper Le Parisien.
Editor Pasquale Clemente was sentenced to two years in prison and fined €1,500 on libel charges (Art. 13 of the press law n.47 /48) in the criminal court of Nola in Naples, Ossigeno reported. Clemente is the former editor-in-chief of the Gazzetta di Caserta and currently editor-in-chief of Roma newspaper. On 22 July, 2010, Pasquale Giuliano, a former judge and senator at the time, sued the journalist for an article published on 30 April, 2010 edited by Clemente. In that article, Clemente criticises the politician: “A province like ours – he writes – can not afford to blow up the first Provincial Council …. A shame ratified by threats from the courtroom of two parliamentary politicians like Coronella and Giuliano, who had nothing to do with anything”.
Journalists Aleksandr Valov and Dmitry Saltykovsky along with a film crew for US channel HBO were detained while working near the southern Russian city of Sochi. The Russian journalists and the six-person TV crew were reportedly investigating claims of misuse of real estate properties constructed during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games which were held in Sochi. The US citizens were released after seven hours, while the two Russian journalists were detained further and transported to the FSB headquarters in Sochi. Initially, law enforcement claimed they were operating in a near-border zone without “necessary permits.” Valov’s lawyer reports that a court in Adler charged him with “organising a public event in a near-border zone.” Valov is set to remain in jail for five days. Dmitry Saltykovsky, who worked as an interpreter for the HBO crew, was released, but fined 1,000 rubles ($15), according to the journalists’ lawyer, Alexander Popov, on Twitter. Aleksandr Valov is the editor-in-chief of Blog Sochi.
Syrian independent journalist Ahmed Abd al-Qader survived second murder attempt in Urfa, where he is based. Exiled Syrian news outlet, Eye on Homeland, said, Ahmed Abd al-Qader was attacked while out shopping by two gunmen riding a motorbike, RSF reported. Injured in the head, he was taken to a hospital in Urfa and is now placed in intensive care and is reportedly in stable condition. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State according to ABC news. In March of 2016, Ahmed Abd al-Qader survived a first attempt at his life when two men ambushed his residence in Urfa. His brother Ibrahim Abdelqader was murdered in Urfa on 30 October 2015 together with a friend, Fares Hammadi, which the Islamic State also claimed responsibility for. In April, another Syrian journalist Mohammed Zahir al-Shergat died as a result of gunshot wounds in Turkish city of Gaziantep. Shergat was shot when walking on a street by members of the IS, who have since confirmed their responsibility of the attack.
