Committee to Protect Journalists - Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan extends criminal defamation to Internet speech

2013-05-14T19:50:46Z

New York, May 14, 2013--Azerbaijani parliament's approval to extend criminal defamation laws to include Internet speech is a serious setback for press freedom in a country that severely curtails free expression already, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ calls on President Ilham Aliyev to veto the bill.

Azerbaijani court sentences editor to eight years in prison

2013-04-05T21:17:26Z

New York, April 5, 2013--An Azerbaijani court has sentenced the editor of a religious news website to eight years in prison on charges related to his coverage of events involving the Muslim community. The Committee to Protect Journalists considers the charges to be fabricated and calls on the courts to overturn the conviction on appeal.

Journalists given suspended prison terms in Azerbaijan

2013-03-18T19:55:15Z

New York, March 18, 2013--An appellate court in Azerbaijan should overturn the baseless convictions of two journalists charged with inciting mass disorder, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

CPJ urges Azerbaijan to halt its crackdown on the press

2013-03-12T21:39:02Z

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to bring to your attention the deteriorating climate of press freedom in Azerbaijan, which undermines your government's commitments to press freedom and human rights, mars the country's international image, and obstructs the transparency of the upcoming October presidential vote in which you reportedly plan to seek re-election. We call on you to start reversing this trend and allow the press to report freely without fear of imprisonment, attacks, or politicized lawsuits.

Azerbaijan must release independent editor on appeal

2013-03-12T17:30:31Z

New York, March 12, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today's nine-year prison sentence handed to Avaz Zeynally, chief editor of the independent Azerbaijani daily Khural, and calls for justice in the case.

Attacks on the Press in 2012: Azerbaijan

2013-02-14T05:05:16Z

Baku viciously cracked down on domestic dissent as it hosted two major international events, the Eurovision 2012 song contest and the Internet Governance Forum. Authorities imprisoned at least nine critical journalists on a variety of retaliatory charges, including hooliganism, drug possession, and extortion. CPJ concluded that the charges were fabricated. International human rights groups, including CPJ, criticized the Eurovision organizer, the European Broadcasting Union, for standing by passively as President Ilham Aliyev’s government jailed and intimidated detractors. The broadcasting union, while expressing concern about the abuses, said the contest was an “apolitical” event. Several independent journalists, including award-winning reporter Idrak Abbasov, were brutally assaulted on assignment, but the assailants, believed to have included police and security officers, enjoyed impunity. Investigative journalist Khadija Ismailova was subjected to a contemptible intimidation campaign after reporting on the ruling family’s extensive business interests. State media smeared her reputation, and anonymous individuals circulated intimate videos and photos. Parliament responded to Ismailova’s coverage by passing legislation giving the president broad immunity from prosecution and barring corporations from disclosing a wide range of financial information. Aliyev signed the bills into law in July.

Attacks on the Press: Prison Census 2012: A Worldwide Roundup

2013-02-14T05:04:36Z

Worldwide tally reaches highest point since CPJ began surveys in 1990. Governments use charges of terrorism, other anti-state offenses to silence critical voices. Turkey is the world's worst jailer. A CPJ special report

Azerbaijani prosecutor requests harsh jail term for editor

2013-02-13T21:07:51Z

New York, February 13, 2013--A state prosecutor in Baku, the capital, asked a court today to convict imprisoned journalist Avaz Zeynally on charges of extortion and bribery and sentence him to 11 years in jail, according to news reports. Zeynally, editor of the independent daily Khural, has been held in pretrial detention since October 2011.

Azerbaijani reporter jailed on mass disorder charges

2013-02-06T22:44:54Z

New York, February 6, 2013--Azerbaijani authorities should drop charges of organizing mass disorder against Tofiq Yaqublu, a columnist for leading opposition daily Yeni Musavat, and immediately release him from jail, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Independent journalist jailed in Azerbaijan

2012-08-27T20:44:26Z

New York, August 27, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a prison sentence imposed Thursday against Faramaz Novruzoglu, a freelance journalist who has faced years of persecution in reprisal for his coverage of alleged government corruption. CPJ also calls for an appeals court to reverse last week's unjust ruling and release Novruzoglu on appeal.

Editor of Talysh paper further targeted in Azerbaijan

2012-07-05T21:19:10Z

New York, July 5, 2012--Authorities in Azerbaijan should drop new, politically motivated charges against Hilal Mamedov, chief editor of a paper serving ethnic Talysh, and release him immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

In Azerbaijan, editor jailed on drug possession charges

2012-06-25T19:12:18Z

New York, June 25, 2012--Authorities in Azerbaijan must drop the charges against journalist Hilal Mamedov and immediately release him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Mamedov is the eighth journalist jailed in Azerbaijan, according to CPJ research.

Photojournalist faces criminal charges in Azerbaijan

2012-06-14T20:03:15Z

Moscow, June 14, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to immediately drop criminal charges against Mehman Huseynov, a photojournalist and blogger with the Baku-based Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) and the independent Azerbaijani news agency Turan.

In Azerbaijan, reporter convicted on drug charges

2012-06-12T17:01:34Z

Moscow, June 12, 2012--CPJ condemns Monday's conviction of a journalist in Azerbaijan who has been held by police since February on trumped-up charges.

Several reporters assaulted, one hospitalized in Baku

2012-04-18T20:14:21Z

New York, April 18, 2012--Azerbaijani authorities must promptly investigate and bring to justice perpetrators of today's brutal assault in Baku on five independent reporters, including award-winning journalist Idrak Abbasov, who is now hospitalized, the Committee to Protect Journalists said.