When in Vienna speaking about Internet Freedoms in Azerbaijan

I thought, after a very long silence and absence I share with you my talking points from a conference I just attended in Vienna organized by the OSCE Austria Chairmanship, Council of Europe and the Chairmanship of the Czech Republic in the Council of Europe. 

Lights, camera, action minus the action and camera with an exception of live stream camera and few photographers. 

On the panel "Determining the unlawful nature of third-party content – what does it mean in practice?" I tried to bring in the country-specific example since other panelists included a Facebook rep [who was pretty good]; two academics [one of them was the amazing Ben Wagner who was our moderator] and a lawyer. 

Surely Azerbaijan representation to the OSCE did not like that Azerbaijan was as she said "singled out" and requested that delegation is told ahead of time when their country is going to be singled out on a panel. 

She [it is actually pretty cool to see that the rep. of our mission or at least the person who attends most of these OSCE events is a woman, so yay to that, though nay to what she was saying] also responded to a statement made by the EU rep who mentioned Azerbaijan as a country of concern for the EU where internet freedoms are on a sliding scale.

I was also disputed, of course, by two male reps from Azerbaijan [one of whom claimed we were "friends on Twitter" before trashing my intervention in the plenary]. In fact, it was the first time that I was accused of working "in Armenia" and therefore "not in a position to provide an account of what is happening in Azerbaijan". 

Hmm... I have been accused of being Armenian, of working for Armenia, and with Armenia and so on but being told I work from Armenia was pretty new to me. 

I guess, all I can say to that gentleman is that check your facts. Although I am pretty sure he knew perfectly well where I live. Oh well. It is what it is.

So, now that I have shared juicy highlights from our government mouthpiece reps, I can now proceed to share with you some of the juicy highlights from my talk. 

There were a few overarching questions that I tried to address: 

- Are intermediaries in Azerbaijan equipped to balance fundamental human rights, and freedoms and relevant social interests at stake? 

- What does it mean for the separation of powers?

- With such an extensive power over various areas of content regulation, what are the consequences for internet freedom and in the governance of Internet? 

* Azerbaijan is certainly a case where intermediaries are not equipped to balance fundamental rights and freedoms, there is a weak separation of powers and as a result, the consequences for internet freedom have been rather grim. And if we are to look at a rate and scale of rights abuse inside the country, there is clear evidence of the real intentions and something tells me, freedoms online or offline are not in the picture. As a result, just as other forms of freedoms, internet freedom has been on the decline in Azerbaijan. 

* Independence of the intermediaries is jeopardized if we look at the ownership, transparency, and accountability of both the government and the internet intermediaries. 

* The recently renamed and restructured Ministry of communications and high technologies holds significant shares in a handful of leading internet service providers and the government is authorized to instruct companies to cut internet service under very broadly defined circumstances, including war, emergency situations, and national disasters. 

* Wholesale access to international gateways is maintained by companies with close ties to the government. Only two operators in the country, AzerTelecom, and DeltaTelecom, are licensed to connect international IP traffic. DeltaTelecom also owns the internet backbone and is the main distributor of traffic to other ISPs in the country. It's monopoly also extends over data storage where its stores national information resources. 

* The consequences of holding such a monopoly of country’s internet traffic was reflected in November 2015, when the country experienced its first internet blackout, that was caused by the fire at Delta Telecom data center. Another blackout took place in 2016 although not as bad as the previous year. One of the explanations provided for the last year’s blackout was related to internet providers being unable to cover their debt to Delta Telecom. 

What about some basic infrastructure data you might just as well ask? 

Internet penetration in Azerbaijan according to recent ITU report is around 77%. However, the quality and monopolized telecom infrastructure remain the main obstacle for better internet access across the country. 

Mobile internet is doing slightly better [the key here is "slightly"]. While the average costs have dropped for internet service significantly since 2011, there is still income discrepancy when it comes to affordability. A World Bank report in 2015 concluded that the average household in Azerbaijan lower income bracket which makes 40% of the total population income, would need 21% of their monthly disposable income to afford the cheapest mobile broadband package and 28% of the cheapest fixed broadband package. 

Now bear in mind, these calculations were done before the two currency devaluations in Azerbaijan we saw last year. 

There are over 50 ISPs in the country, a little over half of the market (56%) controlled by the three state-owned companies. 

One state provider AzTelekomnet has ownership ties to the Ministry of Communication and High Technologies while one of its shareholders, include Azerfon, which has links to the president’s daughters. 

The country’s leading mobile service has been found to have connections with President Aliyev’s daughters too. 

The problem with the rest of the ISPs is that they are still controlled by the Ministry of Communication and High Technologies. The biggest concern is the authority national security services hold over telecom companies, requiring them to make available their equipment and special facilities. 

Mobile companies are known to surrender the content of users’ phone conversations without a court order. 

In 2014, Citizen Lab reported that Azerbaijan along with 20 other governments was suspected of using RCS (remote control system) spyware sold by the intelligence technology and surveillance company Hacking Team. This spyware allowed anyone with access to active a computer’s webcam, and microphone, and steal videos, documents, contact lists, emails and any other form of documentation on the computers. 

In August of 2015, the ministry of communication said it will require some social media and instant messaging services as a Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, skype, and Viber to obtain a licence in order to operate in Azerbaijan. For now, this has not been done although, discussions are already worrying. this year, one parliament member suggested users of popular social media networks in Azerbaijan register with IDs before posting any comment online to prevent “online harassment”. 

So whats next?

In 2014, UNESCO study on internet intermediaries’ relation to digital rights showed that the levels of transparency of ISPs on matters related to privacy and surveillance are very low. And in countries with questionable ownership, this relation becomes even riskier if not raises questions and alarm. 

In Azerbaijan, we are yet to see full transparency in this regard both from internet intermediaries and government. 

We are also yet to see introduction and adoption of specific regulations to ensure net neutrality. Most importantly, we are yet to see the government take necessary steps to end all forms of impunity for violence against online activists, journalists, and bloggers. 

Instead, what we are seeing is further shrinking space in a monopolized system. 

In March of this year, amendments were introduced to the law on “Information, informatization, and protection of information” (shortly law of information) and on “telecommunication”. Authorities said these were necessary amendments in order to ensure regulation of the internet. One parliament member said, “We are talking about banning the propaganda of violence, religious extremism, incitement to national, religious and racial hatred, the disclosure of state secrets, abuse and slander, breach of privacy and family life”. 

The changes call on the owners of the websites, to immediately remove the illegal content after receiving a warning from a relevant state institution. In case of content is not removed within 8 hours, the website owners can be taken to court. And in case the content is a threat to state and society, the site can be closed without a court order. These amendments were adopted pretty much as soon as they were introduced. 

And already in May we saw blocked access to some of the independent and opposition news platforms as well as opposition online TV channels based on a court order [as I was corrected by the Azerbaijan delegation rep. to the OSCE]. What the official delegate forgot to mention was that their owners were not given any notice. Nor were they provided with any court orders. 

So what does all of this talk mean? Well for once, it means, we should be worried. We should be worried about the extension of Azerbaijani government intervention on the Internet and things it can and willing to do to get in the way of any kind of dissent. 

You see, up until this year [2017], the government refrained from engaging in extensive blocking or filtering of online content, often relying on legal, economic and social pressures to discourage critical media coverage or political activism online and offline. 

In November of last year, we saw how a number of opposition and independent websites (which are currently blocked for access) reported access and loading speed issues. These websites included azadliq.info (website for an opposition newspaper); Voice of America, Meydan TV (Berlin-based dissident media platform); Azadliq Radio (Azerbaijan Service for Radio Free Europe) - all of these platforms experienced some form of artificially engineered bandwidth throttling and at least 6 cases of network congestion as well as deep packet inspection mechanisms in all incoming connections into the country. 

Also in November of last year, Azerbaijani parliament adopted two new legislative amendments which increase penalties for online defamation and insult. According to article 148 posting slander or insult on an internet information resource while using fake names, profiles, or accounts are punishable by imprisonment for up to one year. According to article 323 smearing or humiliating honor and dignity of the president in public statements, publicly shown products, or mass media is punishable by up to three years imprisonment or fines as high as 750EUR (1500AZN). 

In 2013, a local court ruled that social media was subject to libel laws as a form of mass media when a former bank employee was sentenced to one year of corrective labor for critiquing his former employer on Facebook. 

Defamation committed online falls under the criminal code, punishable by up to six months in prison. While the prosecutor and the ministry of the interior can initiate an investigation based on content posted on Facebook. 

This year [2017], during the hosting of the Islamic Solidarity Games, users in Azerbaijan reported problems using WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, and Skype. Authorities at first did not respond to reports, however, later explained the measures were taken by them, for the reasons of national security. 

This year we also saw blocking of international websites- since September 2017 access to OCCRP’s website remains blocked. Few words - Azerbaijan Laundromat, slush fund, corruption, bribery - might serve as explainers to reasons why this is happening. 

Recent legislative amendments and continued harassment of netizens offline for their activities online raises the stakes of possible throttling with more online platforms and internet as a whole. Not to forget that these legal changes come atop of reports of arrested, imprisoned and persecuted journalists and bloggers in Azerbaijan. 

In February of this year, a court in Baku sentenced blogger Mehman Huseynov on defamation charges making him first citizen journalist to be prosecuted openly for defamation. 

In a country where freedoms and all forms of dissent (online and offline) are heavily cracked down and punishable by bogus charges, hefty fines, and long jail times, it is difficult to talk about any kind of independence let alone independence of internet intermediaries.

Applause*

Thank you*

#netfreedom17

Your first name is Free, Last name is Dom but not in a country where you will perform

I enjoy Pharrell William's music. It is on my running play list. His songs have a tendency to impact you and generally put you in a good mood. 

But now I am asking myself whether I should continue listening to him since he is scheduled to "perform" in Azerbaijan for the opening of the European Grand Prix on June 19. 

The announcement came today. The local online news outlet Report, said Pharrell will be taking stage together with other stars such as Chris Brown, and Enrique Iglesias. I don't really care about those two but Pharrell was certainly a disappointment. 

The concert is closed to public by the way and only holders of Formula 1 race tickets will be able to attend. 

Such a fall for Pharrell especially when you tune in into his "Freedom" song. 

"Your first name is Free,

Last name is Dom"

he sings, and all is left for me to add "but not in a country where you will perform".

Seeing these names appear on the line up for the opening is not surprising. My country and its leadership have a tendency to spend big money to get big starts come and perform. Last year, people watched Lady Gaga perform rendition of Imagine of which she left some parts out and was allegedly paid 2millionUSD for 10 minutes of stage time. Maybe it was her revenge for keeping her locked inside a hotel room for 3 days prior to her performance. 

Keeping people locked up is something the government of Azerbaijan is well accustomed to do. You all know the stories of activists, rights defenders, journalists who end up in jails of Azerbaijan. And trust me, they are not paid 2million$ for sure. 

I wonder now what Pharrell is charging for his performance in an authoritarian state and will he too stay locked up inside his hotel room?

p.s.: the list of stars goes on including Shakira and  Rihanna who performed at FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2012. 

Gotta love this!

From our beloved president's Twitter account

(Updated on 03.07.2014)

The amazing quotes just keep on coming- these two for instance are my two new favorites! I wonder where its possible to find this "will" and "priority" 'cuz let me tell you, it ain't real! Perhaps there are special glasses or maybe an outfit one must wear to see this so- called "will"?! And if there is then they gotta' be available for everyone, not just the President!

The Republic of Azerbaijan declared the fight against corruption a priority of its presidency of the (cont) http://t.co/VSMGbrBiK1
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) July 1, 2014

There is a strong political will to successfully combat corruption in Azerbaijan.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) July 1, 2014

We cooperate successfully within international organizations. In particular, our delegations to the Council (cont) http://t.co/LtTiQp5zMN
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) June 17, 2014

That is caviar diplomacy in the making in case you didn't notice the depth in meaning of "within" and "active cooperation" part.
 

All fundamental freedoms are guaranteed in Azerbaijan. There are free media and free internet.
— Ilham Aliyev (@presidentaz) June 16, 2014

I think I will stick to this post keeping it updated with more amazing quotes to come (see updates in the beginning of the text)!

Joint Statement of Civil Society Delegates to the 2013 Internet Governance Forum

See the original statement. 

 

Freedom House led a delegation of civil society leaders and online activists from around the world to Bali, Indonesia for the 8th Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the UN's flagship conference for discussing global Internet policy. Following the IGF, 17 organizations and individuals signed on to a joint statement to highlight the concerns they raised throughout the Forum, and to offer recommendations to governments, internet companies, and international organizations on how to better protect internet freedoms. This statement was delivered to the Forum during the Open Mic session on the final day by Bouziane Zaid.

We, the undersigned representatives of a group of civil society leaders worldwide who attended and participated in the 2013 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) on October 22-25 in Bali, Indonesia as part of the Freedom House delegation, make this statement at the meeting’s conclusion to highlight a number of opinions we expressed and concerns we raised throughout the Forum.

The 2013 IGF provided a valuable space for the members of our group to engage with other stakeholder groups, through the Forum’s sessions and also through side meetings and consultations with representatives of governments, businesses, the technical community, multilateral bodies, and civil society organizations from all over the world. We urge all stakeholders to continue to engage and participate in future IGFs, to strengthen the Forum’s multistakeholder process, and to uphold the principles of openness, transparency, and inclusiveness. Without the IGF, there is no comparable venue for civil society to directly raise its perspective and concerns with leaders in the government, the private sector, and the technical community.

We share the sentiment with the vast majority of IGF participants that the Internet governance process can and should be improved, but stress the importance of upholding and strengthening the multistakeholder approach to ensure that the internet remains open, global, secure and resilient. In calling for more efforts to promote, protect, and advocate for human rights online, our group has underscored broad principles and recommendations, such as:

1. All laws, policies, regulations, terms of service, user agreements, and other measures to govern the internet must adhere to international standards of human rights, including but not limited to Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression; Article 12, guaranteeing the right to privacy; and Article 20, guaranteeing the right to free association. As an important step, states and other stakeholders must look to Human Rights Council Resolution 20/8 – adopted by consensus in July 2012 – affirming “that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression,” and pledging to explore further “how the Internet can be an important tool for development and for exercising human rights.” This applies to ending illicit online surveillance by any government. To be legitimate and lawful, any surveillance must be limited, targeted, used to deter or investigate criminalized activity, and subject to independent judicial oversight.

2. Consistency across the many spaces for discussion around Internet governance issues – including those spaces clustered around regional, sub-regional, national, linguistic, and other groupings –  is crucial to ensure the principles of openness, transparency, and inclusiveness are upheld in all venues. This is not multistakeholderism for multistakeholderism’s sake, but rather recognizing the need to represent all voices, perspectives and interests in setting standards, norms, and policies that affect the internet, both locally and globally. The term multistakeholder is overused and applied to a wide range of events, groups and processes. Various international organizations, as well as national governments, must make it a top priority to replace lipservice to multistakeholderism with genuine efforts to bring all stakeholders to the table on equal footing.

3. Transparency and accountability are crucial next steps in the internet governance discussion, and need to be fully implemented by all stakeholder groups. Businesses are beginning to recognize transparency reports as serving their users and their corporate social responsibilities, as well as their bottom-line interests. Governments likewise should ensure that their policies and practices are fully transparent as a means of preserving their legitimacy, credibility, and moral authority with their own citizens and the international community. In instances of content censorship, surveillance, shutting down or deliberate slowing down of networks, and other methods of internet control, these two stakeholder groups must work independently and together to divulge details about these measures and have them open to public debate. In addition, governments should institute strict controls on the export of surveillance and filtering technologies to regimes that have failed to demonstrate a commitment to upholding human rights, while the private sector should take a close look at some of their own practices in this domain. In some countries, bloggers, activists, and other internet users are subject to beatings, imprisonment, and even murder when they post information critical of the authorities.

We thank the government of Indonesia for its warm hospitality and dedicated efforts in successfully hosting the 8th annual meeting of the Global IGF. Despite the confusion during the summer over whether the event would be held in Bali, we were able to convene our delegation of civil society advocates, activists and academics from more than 18 countries. However, three of our colleagues had to cancel their attendance owing to visa issues. The letter granting certain registered participants permission to obtain visas upon arrival in Indonesia came too late, was rejected by airline officials, and was not extended to participants from all countries. For future IGFs, it would be preferable to announce the visa on arrival special procedure well in advance and officially notify the appropriate channels.

Thank you.

Signatories:

- Freedom House
- The Unwanted Witness, Uganda
- Jorge Luis Sierra, México
- Damir Gainutdinov, Russian Federation, AGORA Association
- Nighat Dad, Pakistan, Digital Rights Foundation
- Artem Goriainov, Kyrgyzstan, Public Foundation “Civil Initiative on Internet Policy”
- Giang Dang, Vietnam
- Fatima Cambronero, Argentina, AGEIA DENSI Argentina
- Michelle Fong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong In-Media
- Dalia Haj-Omar, Sudan, GIRIFNA
- Bouziane Zaid, Morocco
- Syahredzan Johan, Malaysia
- Juned Sonido, Philippines
- Myanmar ICT for Development Organization (MIDO)
- Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM)
- Mahmood Enayat, United Kingdom, Small Media
- Abeer Alnajjar, Jordan
- Arzu Geybullayeva, Azerbaijan

Say freedom no more? [Updated April 14, 2013]

See the second part of the post for updates

So it isn't just movies and exhibitions on human rights and freedom that are being banned these days back in Azerbaijan. In fact, its all about banning anything that contains the word "Freedom" itself looks like. On Wednesday, April 10th, the office space of the Free Thought University was sealed [RU] by the local police. No further explanation was provided by the local authorities and the University postponed its lectures indefinitely. 

Known at home as AFU, it is one (if not only) independent venues for young people to come and listen to lectures on a range of topics. As the website of the university explains it itself- AFU is a space offering its visitors alternative education.

Who knows, maybe the government would ban the word itself very soon. And then it would probably say something along the lines, Azerbaijan achieved all the necessary levels of freedom so no need to mention it, or say it no more. 

Updated:
On April 11th, 2013, the Free Thought University placed an official explanation [AZ] regarding the "sealing" operation. According to the statement FTU was shut down based on vague allegations put forward by the prosecutor general office. The statement reminds that OL! is a youth movement not an NGO and there is no legislation within the legal framework of Azerbaijan stipulating some kind of mechanism for such institutions. The FTU never received an official grant. In fact, to continue its work, within its current format, OL! has been working to find a legal solution. It is for these reasons, closing down FTU's premises is completely baseless. The letter, asks for the prosecutor office to unseal the FTU premises. In one final remark, the statement reminds its readers that the FTU is OL! project solely and has no relation to any other institution. 

Banning film screenings in Azerbaijan

We have reached the point in Azerbaijan where anything remotely touching the topic of people's struggle and human rights, is unwelcome. On April 6, a group of plain-clothed "officers" showed [RU] up at the hotel in the southern region of Azerbaijan, Lenkoran where the Caucadoc project (Caucasus Documentary Filmmaking) was screening the documentary films from Ireland, China, Ukraine, and Romania. 

This project is funded by the Eastern Partnership Culture Program and the films were already screened in Armenia and Georgia as Regnum reports. 

It is obvious that someone "ordered" the plain clothed men to storm the hotel. Who? Well, most likely the local administrative office on orders of someone certainly very "important" sitting in Baku. 

"Freedom fighters"

I wrote this short piece for WEast Magazine in the light of recent events back home. I thought I share it here on my blog as well.

A story of us…

Who are we? Where do we come from? What do we do? The answers to these questions are fairly simple. In some countries these questions would not even be asked. But in the country where I come from, these are very important questions. Sometimes your background and your status are more important than who you truly are in this society. Oh yes, don’t be surprised. It is simply a fact of life in a small country known to the rest of the world as Azerbaijan. We are the young, educated, intelligent, active, engaged citizens of Azerbaijan. We are the 20 something, 30 something, and 40 something citizens who still envisage Azerbaijan to be a better country for its citizens. We all come from Azerbaijan, from the beautiful North, from the colourful South, from the middle, from the top. Some of us saw the collapse of the Soviet Union, some of us remember those days through stories told by our parents. Some of us never saw the Union, and were born after independence. We work, study, try to make our home a place we are proud of. That is all… But then, that would be too simple an explanation in an overly complicated world of politics, dirty games and – what many often underestimate – selfish leaders.

Things are tough here. Being outspoken, having an opinion, being an individual with a set of ideals and knowledge is not something that one can be proud of. These things might cost you a lot, above all- freedom. And this is not just about physical freedom but a freedom of mind.

Recently one such free mind, known to many of us here and friends around the world, was detained unlawfully. He was taken away by plain-clothed men without explanation, right in front of his work place in bright day light. Ruslan Asad didn’t do anything wrong. He rightly used his right to think, to act, and to say what he thinks is right. But that is of no value back home- unless your mind acts in a “certain” way. He was released after a few hours, but there is a chance he will be called back in for further questioning on his workplace- the National Democratic Institute (the director of which allegedly asked Ruslan to resign after March 10th, when Ruslan was detained during peaceful demonstrations against hazing and abuse of conscripts in the Azerbaijani military service. This rally as all the other “unsanctioned” rallies was dispersed by the local police using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons), and the relationship between NDI and youth organizations. The interest in the youth organizations is a result of a recent article published by journalist Eynulla Fatullayev holding NDI responsible for investing $2million in what Fatullayev calls a “Facebook Revolution”. Needless to stay, the allegation was dismissed by NDI.

Ruslan wasn’t the only young Azerbaijani detained that day. Rashad Hasanov, another activist and a member of one of the youth organizations- N!DA Citizens’ Movement, was also detained. He remains in custody. According to his lawyer Asabali Mustafayev, the young man is facing charges of possession of illegal weapons. If found guilty Hasanov faces up to 8 years in prison.

Surely these arrests were politically motivated. Prior to protests held on March 10, three other members of N!DA were arrested. According to local police records, Molotov cocktails and drugs were found in their apartments and they were accused of plotting a revolution. A video of the three admitting their “crimes” was aired later in the day though their lawyers and families say this was all staged and the three were forced to confess.

And so, we are the people who are harassed, arrested and detained, simply because someone can do this to us. But despite everything, we are hopeful, I am hopeful that things will change in our homeland. Because we deserve change. I deserve change. Ruslan deserves change. Rashad deserves change. Azerbaijani citizens deserve a better place to think, to write, to share and to live. And one day, our leaders will understand the importance of this necessary change. Because we cannot afford any more generations lamenting the decay in rights, freedoms and morals…

By Jahangir Yusif

By Jahangir Yusf

Feudal Fascist regime of Azerbaijan

Corruption, bribery, scandal, war, exploitation, hatred, propaganda, excuses, misuse of patriotism, misuse of tragedies, and more in this to the point speech by Emin Milli.

Must watch especially on the eve of another march (March 10th) held in support of innocent deaths of Azerbaijani soldiers (and reasons behind them)! 

To a "healthy" future of Azerbaijan!

In his 1949 novel, 1984, George Orwell writes, "If our leaders were thinking about what they could do for the country, they'd be considering its future, in short, its children". Our children are the future, but if a child is raised in a way that contradicts principles of equality, liberty and freedom, we cannot speak of a solid future. Anything else, will only bring perils and ills to a nation. 

Let us look at Azerbaijan. It does not fall short of what Orwell describes in his book as "[...] something huge, terrible and glittering- a world of steel and concrete of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons- a nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting- three hundred million people all with the same face." If this is the goal and the kind of future Azerbaijani leadership is trying to built then there is no need to speak of a future because there simply is none. 

We cannot have a future in a country where there is a small percentage of super- wealthy having most of the power while the rest of the people are so severely dehumanized that they lose their "faces", their individuality, and their role in shaping their own future.

***

Known for some remarkable statements, head of the Social Political Department at the Presidential Administration Ali Hasanov, continued setting records with yet another remarkable statement two days ago. On December 26th, during an event organized to celebrate the one year anniversary of Youth Fund Mr. Hasanov noted "Azerbaijani youth must closely involve in solving state problems" adding "Unfortunately, during Eurovision, a group of youngsters paved a way to damage Azerbaijani image [instead of promoting Azerbaijan's music culture]". He called these young people radicals, "unhealthy" and that it is the responsibility of "healthy" youth to stand against this "small but active group of people". And just as he likes to make an entrance, Mr. Hasanov's exit was too nothing short of another remarkable statement, "Azerbaijani youth can handle five- ten lost youngsters, while in the meantime, continue to represent Azerbaijan abroad at its best".

I wonder what defines "healthy" youth according to Mr. Hasanov. I guess it is that very same faceless, robotized future?! Perhaps, someone needs to remind Mr. Hasanov that having an opinion and speaking truth doesn't make you lost, in fact, it makes you perfectly honest person on the right path. And so to representing Azerbaijan abroad at its best- well, gotta break the bad news to you, but representing a country at its best means actually to talk about the shortcomings, the missing components of a democratic country and not just talking about beautiful music, gorgeous carpets and so on.

I much rather have a country with young, vibrant, creative, young people (doing flashmobs, engaged in social activities, raising awareness and working to make this country a better place) than a country made of "healthy" youth afraid of saying that we failed at having democratic elections, that things are not great in Azerbaijan, that we have limited press freedom, that we have journalists behind bars and advocates intimidated, that we have corruption and that we cannot speak of a future where rich remain rich, while the rest of the people keep silent and in a state of constant fear.

Let everyone decide for themselves rather than impose your "ideology of greatness" on others. People have a mind of their own, we, the young generation of Azerbaijan can connect the dots. Oh, and I almost forgot, we are perfectly healthy.

Petty matter no more?! Prisoner of conscience- Taleh Khasmammadov released from jail

Yesterday, Taleh Khasmammadov, blogger, was released from prison by decree of pardon signed by the President Ilham Aliyev. His first words [AZ] outside of jail were, "Everything feels more valuable. Freedom is sweet." He also spoke of the conditions inside the prison- beatings, torture and corruption are becoming reoccurring incidents with overall situation worsening, especially in the last few months.

If only the rest of the arrested journalists could taste that sweet freedom too...

Political prisoners are "petty matters" for President Aliyev

Indeed they are. Or at least, according to the head of the social- political department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov. You remember the "incident" with European Commission Vice- President Neelie Kroes during her visit to Baku for the Internet Governance Forum? No, not the one with her computer hacked (yes, that too happened in case you missed it!) but when she was not allowed to meet with the political prisoners. According to Ms. Kroes, President Aliyev, gave his approval. However, when Ms. Kroes showed up at the jail gates together with the head of EU delegation to Azerbaijan Roland Kobia, she was not allowed into the prison.

In an interview with local media outlet Turan, Ali Hasanov- i-know-it- all" not only refuted Ms. Kroes's original statement regarding original approval from the president but called the meeting with political prisoners a "petty matter". "Mr. President" Hasanov said, "did not engage in such petty matters" adding that meetings at jails are procedural based on the sentence of each convict.

Ehm... Thank you for reminding us Mr. Hasanov but I am pretty sure, when a President gives his approval (at least in Azerbaijani) things simply happen. But what we also learn from the same interview is apparent independence of state institutions as Ministry of Justice even though, we all know how ministries operate in Azerbaijan and under whose auspices. 

Needles to say that according to Mr. Hasanov, Azerbaijan has free Internet, free journalists, freedom of expression and etc.

Perhaps, a reality check is what Mr. Hasanov needs. I wonder if President agrees with Mr. Hasanov on calling political prisoners "petty matters" especially given how much importance he attaches to the country's image abroad. Though, given the President never himself attended the IGF 2012 and chose to send a letter while instead opting to attend next door BAKUTEL exhibition is proof that political prisoners as well as other pressing issues in Azerbaijan are perhaps "petty matters" for some...

Humor me please- or how seriously Azerbaijani police takes its orders

Oh yes they do! You see, yesterday, on December 10th over 80 Azerbaijani activists were arrested and detained (and later released) as a result of unsanctioned public rally in Baku organized by some members of the opposition parties and some youth movements. 

As always police was there, all ready, geared up. After all, this rally was not approved by the city authorities so instead the police was approved to do what it took to "prevent hooligans from distorting public calm". And prevent they did. Not only they made sure every anti- regime activist was taken off the public square but they also arrested one gentleman in particular, who instead of protesting the regime, was calling for its support!

The video of the man being dragged by the local police while praising the late and the current president apparently gone viral. See it yourself :) 

Ironic isn't it?! I guess Azerbaijani police does take its orders pretty seriously, the mere uttering of the word "President" can be cause for arrest, no matter what the context it.

Bloggers for Democracy

On December 5th, European Greens organized "Bloggers for Democracy" conference at the European Parliament. I was invited as a guest speaker to talk about my experience as a blogger in the context of Azerbaijan. There were other really incredible and prominent bloggers on the same panel, as Sarrah Abdelrahman from Egypt, Oleg Kaschin from Russia and Michael Anti from China.We talked about our countries, our political contexts, revolutions, human rights and freedom of expression. 

But as always, it was the Q&A session that brought a lot more into the discussion. I will write on that more later but for now, if you missed it, if you weren't there, you can watch it below (bloggers presentations are part 2). 

Psychopathic traits and dictators

I am (and sometimes its hard to confess ehm ehm) a big Hunger Games fan. Not only have I read all of the books in one go (literally) I bought this unofficial guide to the books and the story couple months back. And there was one thing that I have been meaning to share on this blog from that book that I really liked but haven't done until now. So here you go.

On p. 130 of the book, the author shares a "Psychopathic Traits, President Snow and his Gamemakers" table, which is a fascinating discovery for me personally especially when most of the traits if not all of them are applicable in reality to most of the authoritarian rulers and their devoted network around the world today. 

I am going to share some of them here with you:

 

This makes pretty much all of the dictators (like the President Snow himself though fictional) psychopaths, which makes me wonder, is it curable? From what I have read so far, looks like its a bit of a difficult process, if not controversial. So, what does that leave us with?                         

Azerbaijan and Freedom two distant concepts?!

Source: http://indexoncensorship.org/azerbaijan-interent-censorship-free-speech/

Magic in the air- or will Ilham Aliyev trick European politicians all over again

Of course I am not talking about flying men on a stage, or colorful and endless little handkerchiefs coming out of one's pocket. This is actually about a well- known trick of a white rabbit. You know- one minute rabbit is there, and then bam and rabbit is gone. 

This time, the trick will be performed by no other but Ilham Aliyev- the authoritarian President of Azerbaijan.  His audience will be the Council of Europe. The question is will the CoE nod in unison and rise to their feet to loudly applause His Excellency Aliyev or will they actually understand they are being tricked? 

We'll see as PACE decides today on the definition of the term political prisoner. I am keeping my fingers crossed and so are the many of the journalists, bloggers, advocates and organizers at home. You see, its actually very simple. We care about our future, the future of our country and the future of the generations to come! We care about our present! We care about the people who think freely and are not afraid to show this! I care for my country's future! The please do care too! 

And of course, what prompted me to write this post was this brilliant story told in pictures by European Stability Initiative - Ilham the Magician and the Council of Europe. Must see!

Hunger Games and Aliyev Regime

Source: Google Images

What does one of the recent bestseller trilogies and Azerbaijan's well known human rights tyrant Aliyev have in common? Well, don't you think it's already obvious by the first sentence of this post? If not then let me draw some parallels here so as not to leave anyone in the dark...
 

For those of you who have already read the books would know what I mean if I say- Capitol, Panem, President Snow and districts. For those who haven't read the book here is a short scoop- Capitol is the "capital" of what was once upon a time somewhere in North America. "Panem" is the nation that lives in the Capitol and other districts. And President Snow is the tyrant/dictator ruling the whole of Panem. Now without spoiling the book or the story let me go back to the connection. 

As you already guessed- President Snow is no other but Ilham Aliyev. Capitol and Panem- well that's easy to figure out. And just like in Capitol where people live lavish life styles (not all but enough, where life moves at its paste, where buildings are high and sky is the limit) Baku fits the description just fine. But what is really extraordinary (I gotta' tip my hat off to the author) is the similarity of the ways in which President Snow and President Aliyev especially when it came to punishing, humiliating and what is more alarming- killing the dissidents and those who protested the system operated- cold blooded, threatening and uncanny. 

And of course, the "Hunger Games" are daily challenges Azerbaijani people have to face- dealing with violence (especially during rallies), being beaten up by the police (instead of tributes, though in our case, we might as well call our police forces some kind of special tributes, like the challenges and mayhem that would be introduced during the games by those who run the games from their computers). Of course there is less blood (at least visible one, though if we look at most recent cases of journalists and human rights advocates being beaten this might no longer be the case) and murder but overall, the parallel is there. In fact, they way individual districts are described (coal, miners, agriculture, iron and etc.) fits our regional districts, starving people (more or less as salaries are low and prices are high, agitated and strict police reporting to the capital and doing whatever it basically wants, should I go on? No, I think I will stop here for now... 

Now, the only thing missing in this parallel is the hero of the book, or the heroes of the book- the Mockingjay, Gale, Peeta and others. Unfortunately there ain't no Mockingjay in Azerbaijan but maybe one day we'll have one too- come out of its ashes, "the bird who was on fire". Who knows... For now however, we'll just have to do with what we have- President Snow/Aliyev, Capitol/Baku, Panem/Azerbaijanis. 

 

Right to Information

Wanted to share a very interesting project launched very recently- World's First Rating of Right to Information with 89 countries currently being on the list of ranked countries.

Launched and initiated by two well known organizations- Access Info Europe and Canadian Centre for Law and Democracy- the full report can be accessed here.

The rating shows not only a country's overall score, but also its strengths and weaknesses in relation to seven main categories: Right of Access, Scope; Requesting Procedures; Exceptions and Refusals; Appeals; Sanctions and Protections; and Promotional Measures.

Azerbaijan is too on the list of 89 countries.

The Eurovision no one wants

After its victory in Eurovision 2011 this year, Azerbaijan is the host of the contest next year. However as great of an opportunity it would be for a country to attract international attention and visitors, for Azerbaijan, things look a lot gloomier. As a follow up to my previous post, here is a video [AZ] about present day Azerbaijan and all its "glamor". The country's leadership is no different than a raging bull clearing anyone who stands in its way (even if its an old woman, you will see in the video). 

The video starts with images and footage of recently demolished houses in the capital. It then shows clippings of arrested activists and journalists and more.

6 activists sentenced in Azerbaijan

According to this article published on August 25th, 6 Azerbaijani opposition activists were sentenced to various times with the highest jail term of three years for staging anti- government protests in the capital of Azerbaijan in April of this year. Among sentenced are Zulfugar Eyvazli (18 months), Babak Huseynov (18 months), Sahib Karimov (2 years), Elshan Hasanov (2 years), Elnur Israfilov (2.5 years), Arif Alishli (3 years). 

The protests organized by the Oppositional Public Chamber were dispersed and resulted in arrests of more than dozen activists. According to the article, 8 more activists are awaiting trial.