According to information before IPI, on 3 October, a court in Azerbaijan sentenced Sakit Zahidov, also known as Mirza Sakit, a satirical journalist with the opposition daily Azadlig, to three years in prison on drug possession charges. Human rights organisations said the trial was marred with irregularities.
Zahidov, an outspoken critic of President Ilham Aliyev, was arrested on 23 June and reportedly found to have a large quantity of heroin on him. His colleagues argue that the drugs were planted on him by the authorities because of Zahidov’s history of critical journalism. No medical evidence of drug use was provided at the trial and there was no proof he had been involved in their sale. Zahidov’s colleagues also noted that his arrest came just three days after an official of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party publicly stated it was time to stop journalists’ slander of public officials.
On 17 October, the Court of Appeals upheld the previous sentence of the Nasimi District court against Sahin Agabayli, editor of the opposition newspaper Milli Yol, who was sentenced to one year in prison on 10 August. Agabayli was convicted for insulting the honour and dignity of parliamentarian Arif Rahimzada.
Other journalists, who faced criminal defamation charges include Eynulla Fatullayev, editor-in-chief of the independent weekly newspaper Realny Azerbaijan. On 26 September, Fatullayev was sentenced to two years in prison on criminal libel charges, after Interior Minister Ramil Usubov filed three criminal defamation suits against the paper and Fatullayev in August. Fatullayev must also publish a retraction, and pay a 10,000 manats fine in moral damages to Usubov. Realny Azerbaijan was fined 5,000 manats in damages.
On 9 October, an appeals court upheld a one year suspended sentence given to Fikret Faramazoglu, editor-in-chief of the weekly opposition newspaper 24 Saat, on 25 August, after criminal insult charges were filed by Usubov. In September, Dzhavid Gurbanov, a Member of Parliament, also filed defamation charges against Faramazoglu for articles published in his paper. If convicted, the editor faces a prison sentence.
In an another attack on press freedom, the head of the Azerbaijani National Television and Radio Council announced a ban on local stations rebroadcasting the programmes of foreign broadcasters such as the BBC, Voice of America, and Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe because local media did not have the required licence. Reportedly, the ban is to come into effect in January 2007.
On 16 October, a court order banned reporters from two newspapers, Olaylar and Azadlig, from attending the trial of Haji Mamedov, a former senior police officer who was allegedly involved in organised crime. According to a report, Mamedov has also been questioned about the March 2005 murder of Monitor editor Elmar Huseynov.
Commenting on the situation, IPI Director Johann Fritz stated, “IPI strongly believes that prison terms are never justified for dissemination of news and information or for expressions of opinion, no matter how unsettling or offensive they may seem to those involved. Such laws prevent the media from offering criticism of government actions, and can lead to self-censorship.”
“We strongly urge the Azeri government to do everything in their power to ensure that the charges against these journalists are discontinued and that aspects of the penal code criminalising libel or slander are removed so that freedom of expression and of opinion can contribute to a democratic society in Azerbaijan.”
