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Country Summary
Despite the authoritarian government’s willingness to use military force to quell unrest, it has permitted independent and opposition papers to exist in Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, reporters must labor under both government and military censorship. The Soviet-era censor, an administrative body known as Glavlit, still operates in the government, in tandem with a special unit in President Heidar Aliyev’s office, vetting articles before they appear and providing strong guidance and criticism to editors. In November, the National Assembly (the legislature) adopted the Law on State Secrets, which was condemned as overly broad by lawyers and journalists, since it deems certain information on subjects in the public interestindustry, transport, communication, and infrastructureto be classified. A draft law on the media before the legislature in December contained a proposal to re-register all news outlets with “appropriate executive bodies.”
Dozens of critical papers have thrived, some with support from neighboring Turkey, but many have small circulations of 10,000-20,000. Several with larger runs are dependent on government printing presses. In at least one case, an opposition group was banned and some members arrested in a coup attempt, although the newspaper associated with it was tolerated, albeit with threats of removal of its printing license for satirical commentary.
At least one opposition newspaper, Avrazia, a weekly that converted to a daily in early 1996, was shut down for a prolonged period, then resumed publication under new management. Others, like Azadlig, a respected independent paper that converted to a daily in September, as well as 7 Days and Mukhalifat, are repeatedly censored, seized, or threatened. The publications are forced to run cartoons in their issues, since the censors forbid publishers to run blank space to show where an article was removed.
Topics that have fallen under the censors’ scissors are government corruption, the human rights situation, relations with Russia, the treatment of Azeri citizens in Russia, the Russian military presence, the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran, the assassination attempt against President Aliyev, and disparaging commentary about the president or other high officials. On Dec. 3, the new speaker of Parliament stripped an Azadlig reporter of his accreditation for an article critical of the Parliament. It was the reporter’s second such removal from parliamentary coverage. Reporters have also occasionally been detained for several hours and questioned when covering demonstrations.
Prominent political figures, including government officials in office, frequently use the courts to file libel suits against critical journalists. Some newspapers have been compelled to pay heavy fines, crippling their work, but in a few instances, newspapers have been acquitted. A local cultural official filed suit against the newspaper Sugovushan, after that publication characterized him as indifferent toward refugees. The official initially obtained a judgment in his favor with substantial financial compensation for “offense to honor and dignity,” but the Supreme Court overruled the verdict.
Azeri journalists have been particularly active in their self-defense. The Yeni Nesil (New Generation) group within the Union of Journalists has organized protest on behalf of colleagues and sought remedy in the courts to reopen newspapers or fight libel suits. The group has also raised Azerbaijan’s censorship issues in an English-language bulletin and has covered the press situation in neighboring states.
The government monopolizes television broadcasting, and the Ministry of Communications has generally refused to grant licenses to independent stations. Applicants are told of the need for approval from the presidential administration, which the president’s office denies, thus leaving independents without any recourse, because there is no broadcasting law to use to mount a challenge through the courts. Local executive authorities have closed down independent television stations indefinitely until the passage of media legislation. Some stations continue to broadcast illegally, showing great ingenuity with homemade equipment, and resourcefulness in covering local news. One station uses women reporters in the theory that government troops will be less likely to attack them.
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