AZERBAIJAN: Open season on journalists

Opposition journalists are not safe in Azerbaijan. Amnesty International’s annual country report on human rights was highly critical of Azerbaijan because of its crackdown on opposition activists, politicians and journalists. Bahaddin Haziyev, the editor of a major opposition paper, was attacked and severely beaten up on May 25. Haziyev said that five men in two cars had blocked him while he was driving home, dragged him out of his car and beat him unconscious outside the capital. He probably would have died if some local residents had not found him and brought him to a hospital.

Another opposition journalist, Sakit Zakidov, was arrested in June on charges of heroin possession. He had been critical of the president’s administration in his weekly column. His newspaper said that Zakidov had no history of drug addiction and claimed the drugs had been planted by the police. Suspiciously, the arrest came only three days after a panel discussion on media freedom had been held by the ruling government party. During that discussion, party Executive Secretary Ali Akhmedov had urged the government to take actions against Zakidov.

“No government official or parliament member has avoided his slanders. Someone should put end to it,” Akhmedov said. Zakidov’s defense lawyers have not been given any evidence against their client and have not been allowed to see the videotape made during Zakidov’s arrest.

The editor-in-chief of another opposition paper, Shakin Agabeili, was sentenced to one year in prison for slander against Parliament member Arif Ragimzade. Agabeili had run against Ragimzade in last year’s parliamentary election, and this seems to be punishment for that “crime.” Another libel suit has been opened up against the paper for an article linking Ragimzade with gang leader and former government minister Haci Mammadov.