Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov wins the journalism award, which recognises investigative journalism of dogged determination across a range of media, including print, online, radio and television
Accepting the award, Idrak Abbasov said:
First of all, I would like to thank Index on Censorship and all those present. I know that there are many people here today who devote their lives to the struggle for other people’s right to know the truth.
In Azerbaijan, where I have come from, telling the truth can cost a journalist their life. In countries such as Azerbaijan we journalists have to make a choice, and we choose the right to tell the truth.
For this right to tell the truth Elmar Guseinov gave his life in 2005. He knew he would not be forgiven, but he did not stop writing the truth.
I am not complaining. I made a conscious choice when I chose this profession, and I thank fate every day for my work.
Censorship, persecution, limited access to public information, arrests – the situation of the mass media in Azerbaijan is growing worse and their freedom is being curtailed year after year.
At the moment, nine journalists are under arrest on trumped-up charges of possessing drugs or weapons. In Azerbaijan, a request from a deputy of the ruling party is sufficient grounds for arresting the editor of a journal that is criticising the government, even in the absence of evidence. This is what happened to Evez Zeynalli.
In the town of Guba, four journalists were arrested without any charge whatsoever. Human rights activists are convinced that they were arrested for passing on to bloggers a video recording of an event that the censor had not wanted to see publicised.
Khadija Ismayilova, a journalist working for Radio Liberty, was blackmailed in an attempt to force her to stop her investigations into offshore companies owned by the President’s family. In 2009 Radio Liberty, the BBC and Voice of America were banned from local radio stations.
This is the price that my colleagues in Azerbaijan are paying for the right of the Azerbaijani people to know the truth about what is happening in their country. For the sake of this right we accept that our lives are in danger, as are the lives of our families. But the goal is worth it, since the right to truth is worth more than a life without truth.
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Index’s most recent report Azerbaijan’s silenced voices is online now
As the international community looks forward to the Eurovision Song Contest, Azerbaijan is working hard to present itself as a modern, democratic country. But a new report from Index and partners paints a very different picture
Last night, the Hammersmith Apollo arena in London was invaded by thousands of Russian speakers who came to see the only UK tour date of the iconic St Petersburg rock band DDT.
The band, founded in 1980 by lead vocalist Yuri Shevchuk, has been at the forefront of Russian rock ever since.
Unlike most other Russian rock bands of the 1980s, they never traded their mother tongue for English: a difficult choice, but one that paid off in the long run. DDT also quickly acquired the status of dissidents, experiencing frequent rows with the authorities. Recently, Shevchuk’s name hit the headlines again for openly confronting Vladimir Putin in a heated debate and for partnering with Bono to save the Khimki forest from destruction.
DDT presented their new album “Inache” (“Otherwise”), surprising the public with unusual sounds and stunning visuals. In the final part of the concert, the performance shifted towards the lyrical ballads the band is famous for.
Opening the show, Shevchuk said: “Why is this show called “Otherwise”? Because many people in Russia want to live otherwise. Tonight, we will say goodbye to the glorious past and will crawl into the brutal reality of today, as we want Russia to have a brighter future”.
Index spoke to Shevchuk after the concert. The star gave a statement in support of the Sing for Democracy project, which is using the Eurovision contest to build momentum and call for human rights in Azerbaijan, the host country for the musical competition this year. Recently, two musicians were arrested after performing a concert in Baku: they have not been released yet, and according to insistent allegations they might have been tortured. In Russia, the case of punk band Pussy Riot is still firing up the public opinion. Shevchuk told Index:
“A musician is a very peculiar type of being. As in Azerbaijan, so in Russia, so in London — a musician is a being of freedom. A musician does not have any owners, except for God. You thus must not offend musicians, as they are the freest of all people. Because music is not generated from anywhere; it comes out of freedom, of inner freedom. Hence: hands off the musicians!”
Two Azerbaijani musicians who insulted the country’s president during a concert in Baku are said to have been tortured by police while in detention. Jamal Ali of the band Bulustan criticised President Ilham Aliyev and his late mother during a concert at an opposition rally on Saturday. After an argument with concert organisers, he was dragged away by police with bandmate Natiq Kamilov and a third man. A court charged all three with hooliganism and sentenced them to 10 days’ detention. During the hearing the two musicians said they had been beaten by police and were refused contact with their families or lawyers.
Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov wins the journalism award, which recognises investigative journalism of dogged determination across a range of media, including print, online, radio and television