Idrak Abbasov

Idrak Abbasov
Born c.03.05.1976
Nationality Tolish Azerbaijan
Occupation journalist
Organization Zerkalo IRFS(human rights)
Known for reporting on SOCAR, 2012 assault

Idrak Abbasov (born c. 1976)[1] is an Azerbaijani journalist who works for the newspaper Zerkalo, one of Azerbaijan's few newspapers not controlled by the government of President Ilham Aliyev. The Guardian described him as one of the nation's "leading journalists".[2] He lives in Sulutəpə, a settlement in Baku, the nation's capital.[1] Known for his reporting on forced evictions in Baku, Abbasov was badly beaten in 2012, allegedly by SOCAR security personnel.

SOCAR reporting

In 2011, Abbasov began reporting on protests against SOCAR, the state oil company, by Sulutəpə citizens whose homes were being demolished by the company.[1][3] After he began his reporting, security personnel for the company sent a digger to destroy his father's home, damaging the roof and walls.[1] In recognition of his work, Index on Censorship awarded him the Guardian journalism award in March 2012 for "investigative journalism of dogged determination across a range of media, including print, online, radio and television".[4] In his acceptance speech, Abbasov acknowledged other Azerbaijani journalists at risk, saying: "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."[4]


Attack

Idrak Abbasov have sustained numerous injuries while performing professional activity. The most serious of them were suffered in 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2012.

On 12 May 2001, Idrak was hit by a police baton on my head while the police were dispersing an opposition rally in the center of Baku. (Craniocerebral injury, concussion of the brain)

On 9 October 2005, during dispersal of an opposition rally in the center of Baku, a plainclothes policeman hit Idrak with a brass knuckles on my right temple and left side of my jaw (Craniocerebral injury, concussion of the brain, several teeth broken.)

On 20 March 2009, employees of the Ministry of National Security of Nakhchivan Republic arrested me by pulling a sack over Idrak head, and for three hours the minister himself questioned me under physical and psychological pressure. (As a result, I suffered neuro-angina)

On 18 April 2012, while preparing a report about forceful demolition of houses by SOCAR in Sulutapa settlement of Baku, Idrak was brutally beaten by a group of security guards of SOCAR. (fracture in the right eye socket, two ribs broken, craniocerebral injury, concussion of the brain, injuries to the left kidney and other organs).

On 18 April 2012, Abbasov was attacked, allegedly by company security officials and police, while filming a protest. His attackers beat and kicked him until he was unconscious.[5][6] Abbasov was hospitalized with two broken ribs, a concussion, severe damage to one eye, and damage to his internal organs.[3][7] Speaking later to BBC News, he alleged that the guards had intended to kill him, and had only ceased the assault when Abbasov's brothers came to defend him;[3] Idrak Abbasov's brother Adalet Abbasov was also hospitalized after intervening in the beating.[6] Another journalist reported being restrained and forced to watch the attack, which she said was 5 to 7 minutes in length.[8] An aide to president Aliyev denied the journalists' allegations, saying that Abbasov had in fact been assaulted by "foreign special services", commonly understood to refer to agents of Azerbaijan's regional enemy Armenia.[2] When interviewed by Index on Censorship on 11 May, Abbasov was still recovering from his injuries, but attempting to work from home, saying, "I’m a journalist. And I have three children to support."[7]

The attack drew international attention. On 24 May, the European Parliament passed a resolution in support of Abbasov and another journalist, Khadija Ismaylova, who reportedly was being threatened for her reporting. The resolution called on the Azerbaijani government for an "immediate stop to all actions aimed at suppressing the freedom of expression and assembly".[9] Human Rights Watch named the case as part of "Azerbaijan’s appalling record on freedom of expression",[5] and called for "a prompt and effective investigation into the vicious attack".[8] Amnesty International condemned that "journalists in the process of exposing human rights abuses are themselves coming under attack by state officials bent on preventing them from reporting the truth", and called for the case to be "thoroughly and impartially investigated".[6]

The Guardian,[2] The Daily Telegraph,[1] The Independent,[10] The Wall Street Journal,[11] CBC News,[12] and BBC News[3] connected the case with the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, stating that the spotlight it had brought to Azerbaijan, the contest's host, had done little to help the nation's activists. Abbasov himself commented, "I can't imagine what they will do to us after Eurovision. There are not so many of us."[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tom Parfitt (25 May 2012). "Tom Parfitt: A tale of tyranny that lurks behind kitsch of Eurovision". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 Miriam Elder (25 May 2012). "Eurovision does little to help human rights in Azerbaijan". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Daniel Sandford (8 May 2012). "Azerbaijan 'targets activists' as it prepares to host Eurovision". BBC News. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Idrak Abbasov wins Guardian journalism award". Index on Censorship. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Azerbaijan: Media Freedoms in Grave Danger". Human Rights Watch. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Journalists brutally attacked amid crackdown ahead of Eurovision". Amnesty International. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  7. 1 2 Rebecca Vincent (11 May 2012). "Azerbaijan: A Visit with Idrak Abbasov". Index on Censorship. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Azerbaijan: Journalist Viciously Attacked by Police". Human Rights Watch. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "European Parliament Raps Azerbaijan Over Freedom of Expression". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "Leading article: Look behind Azerbaijan's glitzy façade". The Independent. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  11. ↑ Joe Parkinson (25 May 2012). "Song Contest Puts Azerbaijan on Stage, Awkwardly". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "Azerbaijan: a lot of grief for the spotlight of a pop song show". CBC News. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
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