H. E. Ramil Usubov
Minister of the Interior
7, Husu Hajiyev str.
370005 Baku
Azerbaijan

Fax: +994 12 92 06 25/ 98 22 85

Vienna, 21 October 2003

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is concerned about the closure of the independent daily Yeni Musavat.

According to information provided to IPI, the offices of the opposition daily Yeni Musavat were closed on 16 October and are since then under the control of governmental special security forces.

Although IPI has already expressed its concern about the many incidents of violent acts against journalists during the recent period of conflict, IPI thinks that you will understand the dimension of the negative impact on the international public opinion if the authorities keep holding an opposition paper closed.

Such acts violate all your national legal provisions and in particular your country’s commitments to international organisations of which Azerbaijan is member.

With the above in mind, IPI condemns this latest violation of press freedom in Azerbaijan and calls on Your Excellency to ensure that the situation at Yeni Musavat is resolved expeditiously, thus ensuring that the newspaper is allowed to continue publishing without fear of harassment or intimidation. By doing so you will be upholding the right of journalists to practice their profession free of restraints and in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We thank you for your attention.

Yours sincerely,

Johann P. Fritz
Director