Brave Azerbaijani journalist’s plea for international support

21 Feb 14 | Azerbaijan News, News and features

khadija

Azerbaijani Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Khadija Ismayilova has been questioned by authorities three times over the past week, over allegations that she handed over state secrets to the US.

Ismayilova — an award-winning investigative journalist, who has in the past been blackmailed for her coverage of government corruption — was called first called in for questioning by the country’s General Prosecutor on 18 September. This came “after pro-government media outlets claimed that she had handed files on Azerbaijani opposition politicians and other prominent figures over to the aides, who were allegedly working as US intelligence agents,” reports RFE/RL.

She believes it was due to a dinner she had with US senate staffers in January. “The prosecutor in charge of my case told me that they have information that I passed some kind of state secrets to visiting Americans. I told them it is impossible, since I don’t have any state secrets in my possession. This is an absurd allegation,” she said.

Fearing she might get arrested, she posted the following message on Facebook on Wednesday:

Things get more complicated here. So there are couple things I want to ask for:

TO INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

You are doing everything right. Keep doing it.

TO DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES, DIPLOMATS, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Just in case, I want to remind my request to international community in terms of possible advocacy actions regarding my possible arrest:

Some of you want to help, but can do it only with private diplomacy.

Thank you, but No.

WHEN MY CASE IS CONCERNED,  if you can, please support by standing for freedom of speech and freedom of privacy in this country as loudly as possible. Otherwise, I rather prefer you not to act at all.

I don’t want any private diplomacy for my case. I don’t believe in human rights advocacy behind closed doors. People of my country need to know that human rights are supported.

I also don’t want any release-appreciation trade for my release. My possible arrest will be just one of the more than hundred politically motivated arrest and government of Azerbaijan has managed to use revolving doors of prisons for getting positive feedback from the West: releasing one prisoner, getting praised, arresting two.

TO FELLOW INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISTS 

IF/WHEN I get arrested, I want you to make sure that your audience understand the reasons. Anti-corruption investigations are the reason of my arrest. The government is not comfortable with what I am doing. I am about to finish three investigations. I will make sure to finish them before anything happens, if not my editors and colleagues will finish and publish. 

İnvestigations I am working on are on the same topic:

SELECTED REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS

Latest report (in Azeri) is about Czech company of Arzu Aliyeva, president’s daughter. The company is sold to tax minister’s advisor. Law bans officials from owning businesses and it is not clear where the 1,2 millions EUros are taken?

http://www.azadliq.org/content/article/25232145.html

2012 President awarded family stake in gold fields

Lucrative gold mining contract signed in 2007 with unknown companies is about to bring millions to it’s secret owners. Khadija Ismayilova and Nushaba Fatullayeva discover familiar names hidden behind offshore companies. Azerbaijani President’s daughters are among beneficiaries.

http://reportingproject.net/occrp/index.php/en/ccwatch/cc-watch-indepth/1495-azerbaijans-president-awarded-family-stake-in-gold-fields

2012 President’s family has a stake in Eurovision concert hall

Azerbaijan spends hundreds of millions to host Eurovision contest, with more than a hundred millions of public funds invested into the concert hall. Khadija Ismayilova’s investigation traces one of the subcontractors, involved to the expensive project and finds a link to the president’s family. The same company is involved into construction of state funded “patriot” project in 2010– the highest flagpole in the world (which became second highest after Tajikistan beat the record few months later) and shady privatization of energy construction facilities.

http://reportingproject.net/occrp/index.php/en/ccwatch/cc-watch-indepth/1499-presidents-family-benefits-from-eurovision-hall

2011 Tracking the President’s family business

For more than five years government of Azerbaijan lied to citizens about ownership of the mobile phone operator, naming German Siemens as an owner of Azerfon company, enjoying favorable conditions in the market, not available for competitors. The investigation reveals that president Aliyev’s daughters were behind Azerfon through shell companies in Panama.http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan_president_aliyev_daughters_tied_to_telecoms_firm/24248340.html 

2010 President Aliyev’s family and the illegal privatization of the public airport

The investigation conducted with Ulviyya Asadzade documented how President IlhamAliyev’s family was involved in the illegal privatization of the public bank and other parts of state owned Azerbaijan Airlines company, to benefit the Aliyev family. The government never publicly announced the privatization. The report was declared “the best investigation of Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty in 2010” among the 28 language services of the radio.http://www.rferl.org/content/Aliyevs_Azerbaijani_Empire_Grows_As_Daughter_Joins_The_Game/2127137.html

Today, she also used her Facebook page to call attention to a number of other attacks on press freedom in the past week. Ilgar Veliyev, a journalists with axar.az, resigned from his post following the website’s “smear campaign” against Ismayilova.  Natiq Cavadli was fired from Bizim Yol newspaper after publishing an interview with an economics expert who has “revealed corruption in customs”, and Ayten Farhadova resigned from the same paper in solidarity. Yafez Hasanov from RFE/RL has received death threats in connection with his reporting on human rights violations in  in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.

The state of press freedom in Azerbaijan is notably poor. An Index on Censorship report released in connection with the country’s recent presidential election highlighted the ongoing “clampdown on independent and critical media”.

This article was posted on 21 February 2014 at indexoncensorship.org

After world attention fades, Azerbaijani activists are attacked and arrested during protest

20 Nov 12 | Europe and Central Asia

Journalists and activists were arrested and brutally attacked on Saturday, 17 November during an opposition protest in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

Despite wearing clearly-marked press jackets, a number of independent reporters were assaulted, including Yeni Musavat newspaper correspondent Farahim Ilgaroglu, Turan Information Agency eporter Etimad Budagov, Media Forum correspondent Amid Suleymanov and Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) correspondent Rasim Aliyev.

17 Nov Baku – Activists and journalists are arrested during protest (IRFS)

There were also reports that those trying to photograph or video the protest were prevented from doing so — either through intimidation or direct violence. According to some reports, up to 30 opposition activists were arrested.

As part of its commitments to a number of  human rights treaties including the European Convention on Human Rights, Azerbaijan must respect its citizens’ right to peaceful assembly. The reality is. different and opposition protests must be sanctioned before going ahead. Earlier this month, on 2 November, parliament accepted amendments that mean the fine for engaging in an illegal protest will substantially increase.

The incident followed the end of the week-long Internet Governance Forum in the Baku, which brought together government officials, technology industry leaders and civil society groups. Though prominent journalists Emin Milli (a former political prisoner) and Khadija Ismayilova (a victim of a  blackmail attempt) took part in the forum, many saw this as a PR move designed to give the impression that the government is adopting a more tolerant attitude towards critical voices. This weekend’s events clearly demonstrate this is not the case — authorities have no intention of changing the way they deal with opposition activists. Neelie Kroes of the EU Commission tweeted:

 

Baku-based Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) has condemned the attack on Azerbaijan’s independent media, and there have been calls for the government to conduct an immediate investigation.

You can find more about the human rights situation on Index’s Azerbaijan: Access Denied page