27 Mar 2019 | Awards, News and features
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Mehman Huseynov is a journalist and human rights defender who documents corruption and human rights violations in Azerbaijan, consistently ranked among the world’s worst countries for press freedom.
He was sentenced to two years in prison in March 2017 — after describing abuses he had suffered at a police station.
As independent journalist, vlogger, and editor-in-chief of the political magazine SANCAQ, Huseynov has put his life in danger to document largely sensitive issues. His work circulated widely on the internet, informing citizens about the real estate and business empires of the country’s government officials, and scrutinising the decisions of president Ilham Aliyev.
Huseynov was first arrested in 2012 for his role in the Sing for Democracy protests against the profligate spending on the 2012 Eurovision contest in Baku, and since then has been regularly interrogated by authorities, who imposed a travel ban on him and confiscated his documents – preventing access to services like health-care and education. In 2013, Huseynov was awarded one of the Fritt Ord Foundation’s and the ZEIT Foundation’s press prizes for his courageous journalism.
Azerbaijan is an authoritarian country in which power is heavily concentrated in the hands of president Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled the country since 2003. There is little room for independent expression or activism, and critical journalists, civil society leaders and human rights advocates face harassment, violence and detention.
On 9 January 2017 plain-clothes officers attacked Huseynov, blindfolded and gagged him with towels, forced a bag over his head and took him to the Nasimi district police station, where police used an electroshock weapon on his groin and punched him.
On 17 October 2018, Baku Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against the denial of parole.
Before his release from prison in March 2019, Huseynov remained defiant, saying: “I am not here only for myself; I am here so that your children are not in my place tomorrow. If you uphold the judgement against me, you have no guarantees that you and your children will not be in my place tomorrow.”[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”104691″ img_size=”full” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2019/01/awards-2019/”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards exist to celebrate individuals or groups who have had a significant impact fighting censorship anywhere in the world.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1552914689259-de127fad-fb34-7″ taxonomies=”26925″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
4 Mar 2019 | Awards, Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Statements, Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
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Mehman Huseynov (Twitter)
Index on Censorship welcomes the release of Azerbaijani journalist and human rights activist Mehman Huseynov.
“We are extremely happy to hear that Mehman has been released. His imprisonment for his journalism marked a low-point for an already repressive government. We call on Azerbaijan’s authorities to respect freedom of expression by releasing journalists and human rights activists from prison,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship.
Huseynov has been nominated for a 2019 Freedom of Expression Award in the journalism category. He was released on 2 March after serving a two-year sentence for defamation.
Huseynov has documented corruption and human rights violations in Azerbaijan, consistently ranked among the world’s worst countries for press freedom.
Despite official harassment, his work is circulated widely on the internet, informing citizens about the real estate and business empires of the country’s government officials, and scrutinised the decisions of president Ilham Aliyev.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”104522″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]
Mehman Huseynov has been shortlisted in the journalism category for the Index Awards 2019. Find out more.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1551714277205-61565068-5c53-6″ taxonomies=”8935, 7145″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
23 Jan 2019 | Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Index on Censorship welcomes reports that new criminal charges against Azerbaijani journalist and human rights defender Mehman Huseynov have been dropped.
Mehman Huseynov is short-listed for the Index Freedom of Expression Awards 2019 in the journalism category “for courageous, high-impact and determined journalism that exposes censorship and threats to free expression”.
However, he remains in prison on a previous conviction, widely seen as politically motivated. International organisations continue to call for his release.
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship said “Index is pleased that the new charges against Mehman Huseynov have reportedly been dropped, but he should not remain in prison on the earlier, unjustified charges. We urge Azerbaijan to free Mehman Huseynov immediately.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1548234806594-889c5f6f-f3c7-0″ taxonomies=”4742, 5113″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
22 Jan 2019 | Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan News, Europe and Central Asia, Media Freedom, media freedom featured, News and features
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Afgan Mukhtarli. Credit: Meydan TV
Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who had investigated government corruption, fled the country in fear in 2014 and travelled to Georgia. On 29 May 2017 Mukhtarli vanished while in Tbilisi and reappeared the following day back in Azerbaijan. He was charged with illegally crossing a state border, smuggling and resisting a representative of the government using violence.
“Afgan Mukhtarli’s case is a shocking example of how journalists are treated in Azerbaijan,” Joy Hyvarinen, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship, said. “The European Parliament has urged the European Union to ensure that Azerbaijan frees its political prisoners before negotiations on a new partnership deal between the EU and Azerbaijan are concluded and specifically mentioned Afgan Mukhtarli. It is very important that the EU takes a strong line on this in the talks.”
The European Parliament passed a resolution on 15 June 2017 condemning Mukhtarli’s abduction, urging Georgian authorities to investigate and expressing concern at Azerbaijan targeting critics living in exile. Additionally, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe general rapporteur on media freedom and the safety of journalists expressed concern on 20 June 2017.
After more than a year in detention, Mukhtarli was sentenced on 12 January 2018 to six years in prison. This ruling was upheld on appeal on 18 September 2018. Mukhtarli told his lawyer that unidentified men wearing Georgian criminal police uniforms were present when he was pushed into a car, beaten and driven to the Azerbaijani border. The sum of €10,000 was planted on Mukhtarli when he was apprehended. Georgian authorities launched an investigation but have not made progress and refuse to recognise Mukhtarli as a victim of a crime.
Mukhtarli’s sentence and treatment while in detention have been condemned by the US Department of State, Amnesty International, OSCE media freedom representative Desir and the European External Action Service, who call for his release.
At the time of his abduction, Mukhtarli had been investigating business links between Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and former Georgian prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili. He accused the Georgian authorities of being complicit, stating that “without the permission of the prime minister, they would not have been able to get me across the border”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1548087608735-4abd0122-06f9-7″ taxonomies=”7145″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
