Media freedom in Azerbaijan

2014 Press Freedom Index^[1]

Very serious situation   Difficult situation   Noticeable problems

Satisfactory situation   Good situation   Not classified / No data

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Media freedom in Azerbaijan is severely limited. Censorship has a long history with variously stringent and lax laws in place at different times.

Despite the existence of independent news outlets, journalists who criticize the government are often severely harassed, imprisoned, and even physically assaulted.^[2] In the 2013-14 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Azerbaijan ranked 160th out of an overall total of 180 nations.^[3]

Freedom House has reported multiple issues related to freedom of the press in Azerbaijan. According to their 2013 Freedom of the Press report, Azerbaijan's press freedom status is "not free" and Azerbaijan ranks 156th out of 179 countries world-wide.^[4]

The three broadcasting stations BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Voice of America, which were the only ones that ensured political pluralism for its citizens, are banned in Azerbaijan since 2009.^[5]

The authorities use a range of measures to restrict freedom of the media within the country. Opposition and independent media outlets and journalists have their access to print-houses and distribution networks limited, or can find themselves facing defamation charges and crippling fines and are subject to intimidation tactics, including imprisonment on fabricated charges.^[6]

Azerbaijan has the biggest number of journalists imprisoned in Europe and Central Asia in 2015, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, and is the 5th most censored country in the world, ahead of Iran and China.^[7]

Most Azerbaijanis receive their information from mainstream television, which is unswervingly pro-government and under strict government control. According to a 2012 report of the NGO "Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS)" Azerbaijani citizens are unable to access objective and reliable news on human rights issues relevant to Azerbaijan and the population is under-informed about matters of public interest.^[8]

During the last few years, three journalists were killed and several prosecuted in trials described as unfair by international human rights organizations.

Reporters Without Borders has called on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to firmly condemn Azerbaijan for tolerating escalating press freedom violations.^[9]

Activists such as Sing For Democracy and Amnesty International brought up the issues of Azerbaijan's rights as it hosted the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, after the song Running Scared by duet Ell and Nikki won the 2011 contest (these activists described its title as ironic.)^[10] The issues included harassment of journalists, and the organisations met with the EBU on 1 May 2012 to discuss the problems.^[11]

Attacks and threats against journalists

Threats, physical attacks, harassment against journalists are common. Nearly 100 journalists were victims of physical assault in 2003. More than 50 were attacked covering violent clashes between the security forces and demonstrators after the 2003 presidential elections. The International Federation of Journalists recorded 15 attacks on journalists in 2013.

• Two opposition journalists were attacked in July 2004. Aydin Guliyev, editor of the opposition daily Baki Khaber, was abducted and beaten by men that accused him of "not serving his country and Islam" and warned him to stop all journalistic work on 17 July 2004.^[9]
• Eynulla Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of Gundelik Azerbaijan and Realniy Azerbaijan newspapers, was beaten on the head in a Baku street on 26 July 2004. He has written many articles highly critical of the government and was accused by the Azerbaijani government of claiming that the Khojaly massacre was committed by Azerbaijanis and not Armenians, while Fatullayev himself according to a 2007 Azerbaijani media report denies that he made such claims.^[12] However, in May 2011, Eynulla Fatullayev defended his 2005 comments which held Azerbaijani fighters and not Armenians responsible for the Khojaly massacre.^[13]
• Elmar Huseynov, editor-in-chief of the opposition weekly Monitor, was shot dead in 2005, but there has been no prosecution of his murderers.^[14] On the 10th anniversary of his assassination, the OSCE RFoM called for an end to impunity.^[15]
• In 2011 the journalists and writer Rafiq Tağı was murdered. Nobody was charged for the homicide.^[14]
• In November 2012 the journalists Farahim Ilgaroglu (Yeni Musafat), Etimad Budagov (Turan Information Agency), Amid Suleymanov (Media Forum) and Rasim Aliyev (IRFS) were beaten and arrested by police while covering an opposition rally in Baku, despite being clearly identifiable as members of the press.^[16]
• On 25 April 2014 the Yeni Musafat reporter Farahim Ilgaroglu was attacked outside his home in Baku.^[14][16]
• In August 2014, the independent journalist Ilgar Nasibov was beaten in his office in the Nakhchivan exclave. He lost vision from one eye.^[14]
• Rasim Aliyev, freelance reported and chairman of the media monitoring group Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) was brutally beaten by multiple people in Baku on 8 August. He died the following days from injuries caused by the attack. The OSCE RFoM protested with the authorities and called upon them to reverse the rapidly deteriorating media freedom situation in Azerbaijan.^[17]
• In November 2015 journalists of ITV and ATV channels were attacked during a police raid against alleged Islamic radicals in the village of Nardaran, on the outskirts of Baku. The OSCE RFoM protested with the authorities.^[18]
• In January 2016 Gunay Ismayilova, a media lawyer and deputy chair of the Institute for Reporter's Freedom and Safety (IRFS) was physically attacked at the entrance of her home in Baku, without suffering serious injuries thanks to the intervention of neighbours.^[19]

Other legislative measures - from hooliganism to the possession of drugs and weapons, treason, and tax evasion - are regularly used by authorities to punish and prevent critical reporting.^[14]

Unfair trials and imprisoned journalists

Azerbaijani authorities have imprisoned several notable journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists has stated the charges against many journalists are "fabricated" and "politicized".^[20] At the end of 2014, eight journalists remained behind bars.^[14] International instances such as the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe have consistently refuted the justifications by the Azerbaijani authorities that jailed journalists had been prosecuted and sentenced for common crimes.^[16] Prison conditions for journalists are reported as dire, with routine ill-treatment and denial of medical care.^[14] More than 10 journalists remain in jail in Azerbaijan by the end of 2015. They include:^[17]

• Khadija Ismayilova, a reporter for Radio Azadliq, on charges of inciting a person to commit suicide, illegal business dealings and abuse of power;
• Rasul Jafarov, a free expression and free media advocate and human rights defender, on charges of embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, abuse of power;
• Seymur Hazi, a columnist for the newspaper Azadliq, on a charge of hooliganism;
• Omar Mamedov and Abdul Abilov, bloggers, on charges of illegal storage and sale of drugs;
• Parviz Hashimli, a journalist, on charges of smuggling and illegal storage and sale of firearms;
• Nijat Aliyev, editor-in-chief of the azadxeber.az news website, on various charges, including drug possession and inciting hatred;
• Rashad Ramazanov, an independent blogger, on charges of illegal storage and sale of drugs.

The full list of cases of imprisoned journalists in the last years is the following:

• Newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for reporting on the murder of Elmar Huseynov and published other views to which the Azerbaijani government objected. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in April 2010 that Fatullayev should be released, but he remains in prison and now faces new drug charges that observers find suspicious. Human rights organizations sent a joint letter to the Council of Europe about the continued imprisonment of Eynulla Fatullayev^[21] in defiance of the ruling and also sent a joint letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev urging Fatullayev’s release.^[22]
• In 2009, the bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade were arrested under the charges of hooliganism and sentenced to two years and two and a half years in prison, respectively. They were released in November 2010.^[23]
• In August 2011, authorities imprisoned Ramin Bayramov, the editor of the Islamic news website Islam-Azeri.az.^[24] His news website has previously criticized the government of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani authorities first charged Bayramov with "activities hostile to the country" and "incitement to mass disorder." After failing to prove those charges, the authorities then charged him with drugs and weapons possession. The Azerbaijan Department of Homeland Security said it found arms and drugs in his garage, but Bayramov said those were planted there.^[20][25]
• Goychay-based blogger and activist Taleh Khasmammadov was arrested in November 2011 shortly after publishing an article accusing local police of collaborating with drug traffickers. He was later sentenced to four years' imprisonment for hooliganism, causing Amnesty International to adopt him as a prisoner of conscience.^[26]
• In February 2012, police arrested Anar Bayramli, a journalist for Iranian television, on a charge of heroin possession. The charge was described by several human rights organizations as fabricated for political reasons.^[27][28][29]
• In September 2013 Parviz Hashimli, journalist of Bizim Yoi newspaper and editor of the independent news website Moderator, was arrested for smuggling weapons possession. He was sentenced to 8 years in May 2014. The judgment was decried by EU and human rights watchdogs. Hashimli was known for his reporting on the corruption and human rights abuses in the circle of the Aliyev family. The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety described the arrest as a deliberate attempt to influence journalists, in the run-up to the Azerbaijani presidential election, 2013^[16]
• In November 2013 online activist Abdul Abilov was arrested on dubious charges of drugs trafficking.^[16]
• In January 2014 blogger Omar Mammadov was arrested on dubious charges of drugs trafficking.^[16]
• Journalist Rauf Mirgadirov, correspondent of the Russian-language newspaper Zerkalo and a believer in "citizen diplomacy" between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, was arrested in Turkey and deported to Azerbaijan, for allegedly spying for Armenia and has been detained since April 2014. Rauf Mirgadirov's charges are largely seen as "trumped-up" and his arrest was condemned by the Human Rights Watch,^[30] European Union officials,^[31] World Organisation Against Torture,^[32] International Federation for Human Rights,^[32] Committee to Protect Journalists,^[33] Reporters Without Borders,^[34] United States Mission to the OSCE,^[35] and others. In December 2015 he was again handed down a new sentence to 6 years in a high-security prison for high treason, in a trial which has been described as politicised by several international bodies.^[36]
• In April 2014, prominent human rights defenders Leyla Yunus , at the head of Institute for Peace and Democracy, and her husband Arif Yunus were detained by the authorities for allegedly spying for Armenia.^[37] Leyla Yunus has been sentenced to three months of pretrial detention, and her husband Arif has separately been jailed.^[38] The detention of the Yunus has raised big international outcry. Prominent international organizations such as Amnesty International,^[39] Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,^[40] United States Mission to the OSCE,^[41] Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders,^[42] Nobel Women's Initiative,^[43] Reporters Without Borders,^[44] Human Rights Watch^[45] and others have harshly condemned their detention as another step in the state crackdown on civil society in Azerbaijan and called for their immediate release.
• In May 2014 Anar Mammadili, chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Centre, ended with harsh sentences. The OSCE/ODIHR denounced it as a "concerted campaign of harassment and intimidation".^[16]
• In August 2014 Seymur Hezi, critical reporter of Azadliq was arrested under charges of hooliganism.^[14]
• In August 2014 human rights defenders Intiqam Aliyev, head of Legal Education Society, and Rasul Jafarov, head of Human Rights Club, were arrested and the working of these two organizations were impeded.^[14]
• The blogger Elsevar Mursalli was resealed in October following a pardon, after being imprisoned on drug charges.^[14]
• In December 2014, Khadija Ismaylova was arrested on trumped-up charges, being accused of having driven to suicide a co-worker.^[14]
• In December 2014, a Presidential pardon let to the release of Nota Bene chief editor Sardar Alibeyli and of Khural chief editor Avaz Zeynalli.^[14]
• In April 2015 the free expression and free media advocate and human rights defender Rasul Jafarov was condemned to six and a half years in a penal colony on charges of embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, abuse of power and forgery committed by a civil servant - which he fully denied. The OSCE RFoM defined the sentence as "nothing short of an act of injustice" and part of a "systematic and wide-scale persecution of independent voices in Azerbaijan".^[46]

Refusal of access and arbitrary expulsions

A number of foreign journalists have also been refused entry to Azerbaijan or have been expelled from the country for reporting unfavorably on domestic and foreign matters.

• In June 2011, Diana Markosian, a freelance photographer for Bloomberg Markets magazine who holds dual US-Russian citizenship, was denied entry by Azerbaijani border officials at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku on account of the fact that she was Armenian.^[47]
• In the same month, a journalist for the New York Times was told that he would not be issued a visa until he could explain why there was so much "negative information" about Azerbaijan in the United States.^[48]
• In April 2011, a Swedish TV news crew was arrested and sent back to the airport after covering a demonstration by opposition protesters.^[49]
• The Embassy of Azerbaijan to Italy publishes online a black list of personae non gratae and uses it to punish journalists who visit the Armenian-occupied territories of Nagorno Karabakh^[50]

Political interferences

The president Ilham Aliyev and his party control most of media and informations, despite the official 1998 ban on censorship.^[14] Political parties use economic pressure to control the media, mostly through advertisement.^[14]

• After a week of harassments the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and the Media Rights Institute were forced to fled the country in August 2014. Obyektiv TV, the TV program of IRFS, was showing stories about freedom of expression and human rights. In the same days the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), who was supporting independent media, had to close his office.^[14]
• In December 2014 the Baku office of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was closed down by the authorities following a trumped-up criminal case. RFE/RL journalists were individually targeted, taken from homes for police questioning.^[14]

Defamation lawsuits

Defamation is a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison. As the same time journalists that damage the honor and the dignity of the president can be punished up to two years in prison. The government in this way can make pressure on independent journalists and opposition media. Since 2013 defamation include internet content, too.^[14]

• The newspaper Azadliq was accused several times of defamation and, after having paid high fines, stopped in July 2014 the print version due to financial problems.^[14]
• In 2014 the investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova was tried under defamation charges.^[14]

Cyber-attacks

In the recent years had strengthen the control on the internet activities of bloggers, social-media activists and journalists.^[14] The blogger Elsevar Mursalli was imprisoned for alleged drug possession and released in October.^[14]

In 2013 the government blocked an image-sharing website about security service. As the same time, Azadliq and RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) reported cyber-attacks.^[14]

Smear campaigns

• Since 2012 the leading investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova of Radio Free Europe had been a frequent target of harassment, blackmail and online smear campaigns.^[14] Ismaylova was subject to gross violation of her privacy, and secretly-recorded intimate images of her were posted online in March 2013 in an attempt to discredit her. She called upon the European Court of Human Rights to order Azerbaijani authorities to protect her from threats and violences in October 2013.^[16] In 2014 she was tried and imprisoned.
• Azeri journalist and human rights activist Arzu Geybullayeva has received numerous threats in various social media circles stemming from Azerbaijan over her cooperation with the Armenian newspaper Agos.^[51]Arzu Geybullayeva, freelance journalist (video)^[52][53][54] In an interview with Global Voices, she stated that she branded as a "traitor" and that the blackmail escalated into death threats towards her and her family.^[55] The threats have caused her to refrain from visiting her native Azerbaijan in a self-imposed exile in Turkey.^[53] The threats were largely condemned by numerous international organizations including PEN International^[54] and its affiliates English PEN^[56] and PEN Center USA.^[57] PEN has called upon the Azerbaijani and Turkish government to "ensure her safety and to investigate all threats of violence made against her."^[54] The Index on Censorship has also condemned the threats and has called upon the "international community to put pressure on Azerbaijan to respect freedom of expression."^[58]

Internet censorship and surveillance

The Azerbaijani government has increased its control over the internet, harassing social media activists, bloggers an online journalists. The email and telephone communications of journalists have been denounced as under surveillance. Real-life intimidations are used to deter online criticism, rather than content blocking. Legal norms criminalising online defamation have deterred social media mobilisation too, together with the arrests of bloggers and activists. DDoS attacks against independent outlets such as Azadliq and RFE/RL have been reported.^[14]

See also

• Media of Azerbaijan
• Human rights in Azerbaijan

References