H. E. Ilham Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Office of the President
19 Istiqlaiyyat St.
370066 Baku
Azerbaijan

Fax: +994 12 92 06 25/ 92 28 68

Vienna, 4 March 2004

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is deeply concerned about the ongoing harassment of the independent media in Azerbaijan.

According to information provided to IPI, the independent Chap Evi printing house, which prints the majority of the country’s opposition newspapers, has been without electricity since 2 March and has had to halt its work. According to the owner of Chap Evi, Shahbaz Khuduoglu, electricity was to be provided by the Barmek company and the Azneftyag Oil Exploitation factory following a ruling by the economic court on 16 February. The court ruled that the two are responsible for the electricity supply to the publishing house after previous electricity shortages.

This is not the first time the printing house has been without electricity. On 10 February, the electricity supply to the printing house was cut, preventing the printing of several opposition newspapers. The printing house had to work using an electric generator. Moreover, the printing house was also without electricity from 7 January until 21 January, when an electricity cable running through the area of the Azneftyag factory was cut. Power was back on 10 January from another line, which was then cut off on 11 January by people claiming they were sent by Azneftyag’s director. Chap Evi has applied to the ministry of economic development asking for new premises. No reply has been received yet.

IPI is informed that there are five printing houses that print newspapers in Azerbaijan. Four of them are owned by the ruling elite, and they only print state owned and pro-government newspapers. Chap Evi is the only remaining independent printing house, and it prints the independent newspapers that were turned away from the state-owned publishing house.

We are also informed that Chap Evi has been audited by legislative bodies four times since July 2003, and the owner of the printing house has been warned against printing opposition newspapers.

Other companies and small businesses in the area are suffering from electricity shortages as a result, and the authorities are persuading them to pressure Chap Evi to move. Chap Evi’s landlord wrote to the printing house asking it to move within 5 days. However, the rental contract states that the printing house has two months in which to move if asked by the landlord.

IPI believes that such economic pressure on independent media is tantamount to censorship and part of an ongoing attempt to harass and intimidate the independent media. We therefore call on Your Excellency to do everything possible to stop violations of freedom of the press, and to ensure that independent newspapers are allowed to publish in Azerbaijan without further harassment.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director