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Censored
March 16
Azer Husseinbala, Azadlig, CENSORED
Taptig Farhadoglu, Turan News Agency, CENSORED
Gunduz Tairli, Azadlig, HARASSED
Kenaan Aliyev, Azadlig, HARASSED
Husseinbala, a parliamentary correspondent for the opposition newspaper Azadlig, and Farthadoglu, a reporter for the independent news agency Turan, were stripped of their parliamentary press accreditation after President Heidar Aliyev's brother Djalal Aliyev, a member of Parliament, publicly criticized the independent media in Azerbaijan. Husseinbala had recently written an article critical of the Parliament. Turan news agency's monthly parliamentary bulletin had come under fire from Djalal Aliyev shortly before Farthadoglu lost his credentials. Djalal Aliyev has called for the closure of all opposition newspapers. This is the second time this year that journalists from Azadlig have been disciplined by the government. On Feb. 7, Gunduz Tairli and Kenan Aliyev, two other Azadlig journalists, were summoned to the prosecutor's office and were urged to publish a retraction of an article on government corruption they had written for the paper. When the journalists refused, they were warned that the next time they published such material they would be brought to trial.
November 25
Elchin Saljug, Azadlig, CENSORED
Azadlig, CENSORED
The chairman of the Main Department for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press ordered the newspaper Azadlig to remove reporter Saljug's articles concerning the dismissal of the prime minister and speaker of Parliament. On Nov. 26, the newspaper printed a cartoon instead of Saljug's articles, in compliance with the government's prohibition on leaving blank spaces where editorial material has been censored. CPJ appealed to President Haidar Aliyev to reinstate Saljug's accreditation and to ensure that any further censorship of the media be stopped.
For more information contact europeweb@cpj.org