POLITICAL REFORMS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH, along with the advent of democratic governments in Croatia and Serbia, brightened the security prospects for journalists in Central Europe and the Balkans. In contrast, Russian’s new government imposed press restrictions, and authoritarian regimes entrenched themselves in other countries of the former Soviet Union, particularly in Central Asia, further threatening…
In North Korea, listening to a foreign broadcast is a crime punishable by death. In Colombia, right-wing paramilitary forces are suspected in the murders of three journalists in 2000. Meanwhile, paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño was formally charged with the 1999 murder of political satirist Jaime Garzón.
PRESIDENT HEIDAR ALIYEV AND OTHER AZERBAIJANI OFFICIALS repeatedly proclaimed their support for freedoms of association and expression, but the November parliamentary elections highlighted the regime’s authoritarianism. The government banned opposition rallies, harassed opposition leaders, and temporarily suspended several opposition parties from the contest. International observers found multiple problems with the election itself, which was nevertheless…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in AZERBAIJAN New York, October 5, 2000 — Azeri editor Rauf Arifoglu was released today from solitary confinement at the Ministry for National Security in Baku after more than six weeks of pre-trial detention. Arifoglu was required to submit a written assurance that he would not…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in AZERBAIJAN New York, September 21, 2000 — Azeri editor Rauf Arifoglu, jailed since August 22 on charges of terrorism, illegal possession of arms, and attempted hijacking, has been hit with a new charge of “calling for a coup d’etat.” If convicted on all counts, he…
Click here to read more about press freedom conditions in AZERBAIJAN MAP of Azerbaijan New York, September 5, 2000 — In a widening crackdown on local media, Azeri authorities called in a second editor for questioning in connection with recent attempted hijacking in the Azeri enclave of Nakhchivan.
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply disturbed by the illegal arrests of Rauf Arifoglu and Etibar Djebrayiloglu, respectively editor-in-chief and special correspondent of the opposition daily Yeni Musavat, and by the illegal banning of the independent newspaper Uch Noqte. We fear that these and other incidents constitute an organized government campaign to stifle independent journalism in Azerbaijan during the run-up to the November 5 parliamentary elections.
Dear Mr. Mirzorian, The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is greatly disturbed by the arrest and continued detention of Vahram Aghajanian, a journalist with the newspaper Tasnerord Nahang in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, and a contributor to the Yerevan, Armenia-based paper Iravunk.