Attacks on the Press 2007: Azerbaijan
AZERBAIJAN Ignoring international opinion, the authoritarian government of President Ilham Aliyev clamped down on opposition and independent media and became the world’s fifth-leading jailer of journalists, with nine reporters and editors behind bars when CPJ conducted its annual census on December 1. On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, CPJ ranked the oil-rich Caspian Sea…
Appeals court upholds verdict in Fatullayev case
New York, January 16, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Azerbaijani appellate court’s decision today to uphold the 2007 conviction of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the independent Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan. Fatullayev was convicted in October 2007 on charges of terrorism, incitement of ethnic hatred, and tax evasion,…
Azerbaijani president pardons five journalists; three left behind bars
New York, December 28, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes today’s pardon of five journalists imprisoned in Azerbaijan, but it calls on President Ilham Aliyev to free the three journalists who remain unjustly jailed. Samir Sadagatoglu, Rafiq Tagi, Faramaz Novruzoglu, Rovshan Kebirli, and Yashar Agazadeh were among 114 prisoners pardoned by presidential decree. The five…
Azerbaijan: Ninth journalist imprisoned
New York, November 12, 2007—Azerbaijani newspaper editor Genimet Zahidov of the prominent opposition daily Azadlig (Freedom) was given two months of pre-trial detention on Sunday while authorities investigate charges of “hooliganism” and inflicting “minor bodily harm.” Zahidov was arrested and sent to a Baku pre-trial detention center the same day. The two charges brought against…
Eight journalists now behind bars in Azerbaijan
New York, November 7, 2007—The editor-in-chief of a pro-government daily paper in Azerbaijan has been sentenced to prison on criminal defamation and insult charges, making him the eighth journalist in the country currently serving jail time. This imprisonment cements Azerbaijan position at the top of the list of countries jailing journalists in Europe and Central…
Editor slammed with hefty sentence
New York, October 30, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces a lengthy prison sentence handed down today by an Azerbaijani court to independent editor Eynulla Fatullayev. Fatullayev is already serving a two-and-a-half-year prison term for allegedly defaming Azerbaijanis in an Internet posting he says he did not write, and has been sentenced to another eight-and-a-half…
In Azerbaijan, persecution of editor continues; CPJ seeks a halt
New York, September 6, 2007—Azerbaijani authorities must stop the persecution of Eynulla Fatullayev, an imprisoned editor who has been hit with a series of politically inspired criminal charges since he began investigating alleged government wrongdoing, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Supreme Court upholds Azerbaijani editor’s prison sentence
New York, August 24, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists denounces the continued imprisonment of Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of the now-shuttered Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan upheld Fatullayev’s 30-month prison sentence on charges of defaming Azerbaijanis in an article. Fatullayev has been held in…
To mark Press Day, CPJ urges release of jailed Azerbaijani journalists
New York, July 20, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Azerbaijani authorities to mark the country’s National Press Day on Sunday by releasing the seven journalists jailed in the nation’s prisons. Azerbaijan is the region’s leading jailer of journalists and one of the world’s worst backsliders on press freedom, CPJ research shows.
Security ministry hits opposition editor with new charges
New York, July 5, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists deplores the continued persecution of Eynulla Fatullayev, imprisoned editor of the Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan, and that of his staff. The Ministry of National Security (MNB) brought a new criminal charge of incitement to ethnic and religious hatred against Fatullayev…