Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov’s story bears all the hallmarks of the typical forms of pressure used by an increasingly intolerant regime to silence its critics. Abbasov became a target for providing a rare critical voice in a media climate dominated by the state. As a result, Abbasov and his family faced years of pressure, ranging from harassment and threats to physical attacks. Nonetheless, he persisted in his efforts to tell the truth about the situation in his country.
In April 2012, just weeks after winning an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award, Abbasov was brutally beaten by employees of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) whilst filming them demolishing houses in his village. As a result of the attack, he was hospitalised and sustained serious injuries, including broken ribs, damage to his internal organs, and injuries to his eyes. No one was ever prosecuted, and SOCAR blamed Abbasov for instigating the attack.
After the attack, the pressure continued to mount against Abbasov and his family – even his young children. Eventually, they were forced to flee the country for safety, like many other journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists, who are forming an ever-growing community of exiles.
Abbasov continues speaking out even now, drawing international attention to the situation in Azerbaijan, and trying to help his colleagues who have been jailed or otherwise targeted. Now, in the midst of an unprecedented crackdown in the country, he has written a letter to Christiane Amanpour in her new capacity as the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression and Journalist Safety.
In his letter, on behalf of the Sport for Rights campaign, Abbasov detailed the unprecedented human rights crackdown taking place in Azerbaijan, in particular the cases of jailed journalist Khadija Ismayilova, and human rights defender Emin Huseynov, who has been trapped at the Swiss Embassy in Baku since August 2014, facing arrest if he attempts to leave. Abbasov urged Amanpour to make a statement condemning the crackdown and calling for the release of the country’s jailed journalists and human rights defenders.
Abbasov also called on Amanpour to take steps to hold UNESCO responsible for its freedom of expression mandate with respect to Azerbaijan, and to undertake a fact-finding mission to the country. He noted that a visit by Amanpour would be timely in the aftermath of the inaugural European Games – which will take place in Baku from 12-28 June – in light of potential acts of reprisal against Azerbaijanis who speak out in the run-up to the Games.
The Sport for Rights campaign hopes that Amanpour will respond, and take action to address the serious freedom of expression violations in the country, before the situation becomes even worse. In particular, Amanpour could be a useful intermediary with Azerbaijani First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, herself a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.
In the meantime, it is journalists like Idrak Abbasov and Khadija Ismayilova, and human rights defenders like Emin Huseynov, who will continue paying the price for the international community’s silence on the widespread repression being carried out by the Azerbaijani regime. They at least deserve a sporting chance.
Oslo, Norway
14 May 2015
Dear Ms Amanpour,
I am writing to you as the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression and Journalist Safety. Congratulations on your appointment! You may remember me from the Rory Peck Awards in 2013, where I received the Martin Adler Award for my freelance journalism in Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, the situation in Azerbaijan has drastically deteriorated since our meeting in London, and my family and I have been forced to leave the country for safety.
Now, I am writing to you with some requests from the Sport for Rights campaign, a coalition of international organisations working to promote human rights in Azerbaijan in the context of the inaugural European Games, which will take place in Baku this June. In the run-up to the Games, the Azerbaijani authorities have engaged in an unprecedented crackdown to silence all criticism and dissent.
As a result, eight journalists are now behind bars on spurious charges. One of them is prominent investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, whom you met when she received an award from the International Women’s Media Foundation in 2012. Khadija is now in detention, facing serious jail time on trumped-up charges of embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, abuse of power, and inciting someone to attempt suicide. Khadija has been targeted for her fearless reporting, much of which focused on corruption of Azerbaijan’s ruling elite, including President Aliyev and his family.
Five human rights defenders are also in jail on spurious charges, all strong advocates of freedom of expression. Another human rights defender, Emin Huseynov, remains trapped in the Swiss embassy in Baku, facing arrest on spurious charges of illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of power. Emin has been targeted for his work as director of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety, Azerbaijan’s leading freedom of expression advocacy organization. Emin has long been at the forefront of promoting freedom of expression and free media. He is a tireless defender of free speech, not only in his native Azerbaijan but also throughout the former Soviet Union and beyond.
Besides arrests, the authorities have stepped up other forms of pressure on journalists. Violence against journalists remains a serious problem, with complete impunity for their attackers. Harassment, threats, and intimidation are an everyday reality for critical journalists. A growing number of journalists, like me, have been forced to leave the country for safety.
In light of these and other serious problems, the Sport for Rights campaign has three requests for you. Firstly, we urge you to make an immediate statement condemning the ongoing human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan and calling for the release of the jailed journalists and human rights defenders. We have enclosed a list of their names and case details, and can provide further information as needed.
Secondly, we ask that you take steps to hold UNESCO responsible for its freedom of expression mandate with respect to Azerbaijan. Despite the alarming freedom of expression situation in the country, Azerbaijan has received nothing but praise from UNESCO. Director-General Irina Bokova has consistently failed to mention freedom of expression in her public remarks related to Azerbaijan.
Finally, we encourage you to undertake a mission to Azerbaijan to investigate the situation in the country, visit our jailed colleagues, and raise these serious issues directly with the authorities, including First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, who is herself a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. This would be particularly helpful in the aftermath of the European Games, as we are worried about possible acts of retribution towards our few remaining brave colleagues in the country, as has been the case after past international events.
Thank you for considering our requests, and as ever, for your support for freedom of expression. I would greatly appreciate anything you could do to help improve the situation in my country before it gets any worse.
A Baku district court today extended the detention of Khadija Ismayilova by an additional three months, until 24 August.
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Khadija Ismayilova, one of Azerbaijan’s most celebrated investigative journalists, today had her appeal over a criminal libel conviction postponed indefinitely.
In February Ismayilova was fined 2,500 manat (£1,500) for defamation of former opposition leader Elman Hasanov. The decision to postpone her appeal comes as she enters her six month in pretrial detention over a number of separate charges, dismissed as spurious and trumped up by international human rights organisations.
“The continued judicial harassment of Khadija Ismayilova by Azerbaijani authorities is cruel and unjust,” said Index CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “As Azerbaijan prepares to host this summer’s inaugural European Games, it is worth remembering that the treatment of Ismayilova flies in the face of the principles of press freedom and human dignity enshrined in the Olympic Charter.”
Ismayilova was arrested on 5 December on charges of inciting suicide and given two months in pretrial detention, which has since been extended twice, last in early March. The initial charge has in recent weeks been further discredited by the backtracking of the accuser, Tural Mustafayev.
In April Mustafayev said in a radio interview that he no longer stands by the letter he wrote in November 2014, accusing Ismayilova of inciting him to suicide, and that he had written to the head public prosecutor to retract his complaint. He says he had first tried in December to withdraw the complaint. Then in May, he accused the city prosecutor’s office in Baku of using his suicide attempt as an opportunity to target Ismayilova.
“I was forced to write the letter. They blackmailed me. They said they will release secret camera recordings of my apartment if I didn’t comply,” he said in a video posted online, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Ismayilova was handed down further charges following her arrest. According to her lawyer, she also stands accused of embezzlement, illegal business, tax evasion and abuse of power. Together, the charges carry a possible sentence of 12 years.
Ismayilova has on a number of occasions taken on President Ilham Aliyev and those close to him through her reporting, and has faced harassment and smear campaigns directly linked to her work. Among other things, ahead of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, she uncovered how the Aliyev family profited from the building of the Baku concert hall where the final was to be hosted.
“Khadija Ismayilova knows no fear. Again and again she has unearthed and exposed stories that have cast a harsh light on widespread corruption and self-dealing at the highest levels of the Azeri government,” said PEN Executive Director Suzanne Nossel.
On behalf of the Sport for Rights coalition, we are writing to bring your attention to the unprecedented and mounting crackdown in Azerbaijan, which has resulted in dozens of political arrests, including prominent journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists. In the run-up to the European Games, which will take place in Baku from 12-28 June, we ask you to publicly support the Azerbaijani people and the rights to free expression, association, and other fundamental freedoms.
Last summer, a group of Azerbaijani human rights activists launched the Sport for Rights campaign. The campaign has a simple objective: to draw attention to the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in the context of the European Games. As evidenced by hundreds of credible reports by media outlets, NGOs and governments, the response of the Azerbaijani government to the very idea of this peaceful and legitimate initiative has been truly unprecedented repression.
Since August 2014, the Azerbaijani authorities have undertaken a major crackdown on government critics, resulting in arrests, trumped-up criminal convictions, and prison sentences for key activists, as well as the closure of dozens of civil society organisations and outlets. The authorities continue to stifle dissent and clamp down on critics.
These are just a few examples of this frantic wave of repression:
On 16 April, a court in Baku sentenced renowned human rights defender Rasul Jafarov – founder of the Sport for Rights campaign – to a six and a half-year jail term on fabricated charges. A few days later, the same court sentenced Intigam Aliyev, a leading human rights lawyer who has filed hundreds of cases with the European Court of Human Rights, to seven and a half years behind bars, again on bogus charges. Both had been detained since the beginning of August 2014.
Emin Huseynov, a well-known free expression advocate, has been forced to seek refuge at the Swiss Embassy in Baku since August 2014 to avoid arrest on the same charges.
Veteran human rights defender Leyla Yunus was arrested on 30 July 2014 on trumped-up charges of state treason and other crimes. Her husband, history professor Arif Yunus, was arrested on 5 August 2014 on similar charges.
Khadija Ismayilova, an award-winning investigative journalist who has exposed corruption and illegal business activity among the ruling elite, has remained in pretrial detention since December 2014, once again under fabricated charges. If convicted, she could face up to 12 years in jail.
These individuals, along with dozens of other political prisoners, were targeted following their criticism of Azerbaijan’s human rights record at the international level.
We are addressing these concerns to you, the Chairman of the British Olympic Association, as you have the power to help. Despite its repression at home, the Azerbaijani government cares deeply about its international reputation, as evidenced by the vast resources spent to promote a positive image abroad. In the run-up to the European Games, we believe that public condemnation of the crackdown by bodies such as yours could help achieve tangible, democratic change at this crucial time.
In a very positive step, on 30 April, the President of the Swedish Olympic Committee, Stefan Lindeberg, gave an interview to Aftonbladet newspaper, in which he spoke out on the human rights situation and on-going repression in Azerbaijan. He said: “It is difficult to keep sports and state governance apart, but for us sports is the core. We do not support Azerbaijan. It is a regime that is not living up to standards. But we stand behind the fundamental idea of sports, which is to keep doors open rather than to close them”. He also expressed concern about reports on restrictions of press freedom in the country.
We encourage you to follow the Swedish Olympic Committee’s lead, and, in the spirit of the Olympic Charter’s principles on press freedom and human dignity, publicly condemn this clampdown, calling for the release of Azerbaijan’s political prisoners. In making such a statement, you would send a signal to Azerbaijani civil society that they are not alone in their struggle for fundamental freedoms. For the dozens of activists and rights defenders in Azerbaijan languishing behind bars, in hiding or forced into exile, this moment of international attention represents a watershed in their fight for justice and freedom.
We urge you not to miss this opportunity to show support for fundamental rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan, and press for concrete improvements in the few remaining weeks before the start of the Games.
Thank you for your attention to these matters.
Sincerely yours,
Thomas Hughes, Executive Director, ARTICLE 19
Olexandra Matviichyk, Head of the Board, Center for Civil Liberties
Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now
Dauta Przywara, Chair of the Board, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Kaja Haldorsen, Communications Manager, Human Rights House Foundation
Hugh Williamson, Director, Europe and Central Asia, Human Rights Watch
Jodie Ginsberg, Chief Executive, Index on Censorship
Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Jesper Højberg, Executive Director, International Media Support
Simon Papuashvili, Project Coordinator, International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR)
Petra Havlikova, Project Coordinator of the Women’s Rights Are Human Rights Program, NESEHNUTI
Harry Hummel, Executive Director, Netherlands Helsinki Committee
Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General, Norwegian Helsinki Committee
Emma Hughes, Strategy Director, Platform
Gerald Staberock, Secretary General, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
From top left: Arif Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, Leyla Yunus, Khadija Ismayilova, Intigam Aliyev and Anar Mammadli – some of the government critics jailed on trumped up charges in Azerbaijan
For the first time since the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, the oil-rich, rights-poor nation of Azerbaijan is drawing widespread international attention. This June, the country is poised to host the inaugural European Games, which will bring an estimated 6,000 athletes from 50 countries to the capital city of Baku to compete in 20 sports.
Ahead of the games, the Azerbaijani regime has spent a great deal of time and money to promote a positive image abroad. At home, however, it is engaged in a brutal human rights crackdown. This has particularly intensified over the past year, as the authorities have worked aggressively to silence all forms of criticism and dissent.
Dozens of democracy activists are now in prison, including celebrated investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova who was given this year’s PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, and Leyla Yunus, one of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders. They, and many others, have been jailed on spurious charges, with some facing prison sentences of up to 12 years. Meanwhile, press freedom campaigner Emin Huseynov is trapped in the Swiss embassy in Baku, facing arrest if he leaves. These individuals have been targeted for their work defending the rights of others and telling the truth about the situation in their country.
So far, the European Olympic Committees has been happy to look the other way, stating that was “not the EOC’s place to challenge or pass judgment on the legal or political processes of a sovereign nation”. Likewise, the event sponsors do not seem bothered: BP stated that “seeking to influence the policies of sovereign governments” was not part of its role. The Sport for Rights campaign hopes, however, that the next prime minister will think twice.
The Sport for Rights campaign’s take on Baku European Games mascots Jeyran and Nar. (Image: Sport for Rights)
As members of the campaign, Article 19, Index on Censorship, and Platform have written to the leaders of the UK’s Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, and Green parties on the eve of the general election. The campaign urged them to make statements condemning the on-going attacks on human rights and calling for the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.
Sport for Rights also called on the party leaders to make their participation in the opening ceremony of the games contingent upon the release of the country’s jailed journalists and human rights defenders. This is not a call for a boycott of the games by athletes or the public, but a request for the next prime minister not to miss a key opportunity to take an important stand.
In the face of growing repression in Azerbaijan, the response from the British government has so far been weak and sporadic. Statements are occasionally made; the most recent expressed that the UK was “dismayed” by the sentencing of human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, but stopped short of calling for his release, as did the previous statement conveying that the UK was “deeply troubled” by the sentencing of human rights defender Rasul Jafarov. But beyond statements, little else has been done — at least in the public eye.
For a country so intent on promoting its image as a modern, glamorous, international player, key political figures taking a public stand on human rights issues would have a real chance of impacting positive, democratic change. The European Games presents a timely opportunity for the next prime minister to do just that, sending the clear signal that human rights are important in the bilateral relationship.
Conversely, attendance by the prime minister at the opening ceremony of the games in the current climate, without securing the release of the jailed journalists and human rights defenders, would only serve to effectively endorse an increasingly authoritarian regime. In helping to whitewash Azerbaijan’s ever-worsening image, the UK would only end up tarnishing its own.
