Aliyev's mask is finally off

It just keeps getting better and better. After appointing his wife as VP, intimidating family members of dissident activists living abroad, president Aliyev's minions go after popular video blogger, author of numerous videos critical of the government and its officials of their lavish life styles. Court in Baku sentenced Mehman Huseynov to two years on charges of slander. 

This is important. Huseynov is the first journalist/blogger to be openly sentenced for slander. So the mask is finally off for president Aliyev. No need for cover ups and camouflages. And why should he be hiding anymore anyway. He has changed the constitution, secured presidency for life, violated every single possible human rights convention Azerbaijan signed up to and got away with it, made his wife his vice president. 

Mehman's sentence means that the government in Azerbaijan no longer needs to hide its true colors; that more arrests will follow [not that there were many independent voices left anyway] and that we have successfully transitioned to being banana republic (not that we were too far from  becoming one). 

I think someone should tell one of Aliyev's minions they should add that description into one of Aliyev's speeches where he boasts about democracy, freedoms, modernism and so on. "In addition to many strengths of our country, we have also successfully built a banana republic".

***Updated
Also today, court extended pre-trial detention period of Faig Amirli, finance director at opposition Azadliq newspaper by three months;
Another court extended pre-trial detention of political activist Fuad Ahmadli by three months;
And yet another court extended pre-trial detention of another journalist Elchin Ismayilli until June;

Aliyev is suing French channel for calling him a despot

But President Aliyev is forgetting that France isn't Azerbaijan and while in Azerbaijan he can hire and buy out a whole court and prosecutor office to do as he pleases, things don't work the same way in France.

Last week, French TV aired an investigative piece (to me also work of art) about President Aliyev, his by now mastered caviar diplomacy, the country's corruption levels and poor rights record. Cash Investigation- the brain behind the show and its host, French journalist Elise Lucet was able to attend the opening gala of a photo exhibition ironically titled "Azerbaijan- the land of tolerance". Not only Lucet was able to attend the opening but she also was able to ask few questions to Mehriban Aliyev who was there (of course how could she not!) as the head of Heydar Aliyev Foundation who also happened to be the chief sponsor of the event.

Here is brief conversation:

Elise Lucet: Is your country really a land of tolerance?

Mehriban Aliyeva: Land of tolerance? Of course, it is. 

Elise Lucet: Because you have many political prisoners in jail right now in Azerbaijan.

Mehriban Aliyeva: It is not true. Just get correct information.

Elise Lucet: Do you know Leyla Yunus [repeats the question twice] or Khadija Ismayilova? They are in jail! They have been sentenced from 7.5 to 8.5 years in jail.

Needles to say, Lucet shortly after [like within seconds] was kicked all the way to the back of the crowd because security [of course] didnt like the questions. Even if Lucet tried explaining to the security that she is French journalist and that this was France the security was quick to say "This was not a press conference". He then asked her to "Please be silent [repeating it a few times] Be quiet!"

Anyhow, you can watch the whole show, and you are in luck especially if you are French speaker.

Turns out, the ruling family was unhappy about this encounter and the show so they hired Olivier Pardo to represent Azerbaijan. Padro turns to be the right person for the job. He already said the program while accusing Azerbaijan of being "strictest dictatorship" failed to present evidence. Looks like Padro also missed the whole episode or maybe didn't listen to the facts in the show. But then it is not surprising, because Padro also represented Equatorial Guinea in France in a case known as "ill-gotten gains" when anti-corruption NGOs managed to launch an investigation into the cases of three African leaders' names mentioned in large- scale fraud. Representing that case, Pardo said, "the case of the "ill-gotten gains" violated international law and that he would contest the case and pursue France through the international courts".  

Sadly that investigation didn't lead to concrete results as French Court stopped short of making a ruling saying an NGO Transparency International "could not itself bring a complaint against three African heads of state". 

Pardo's list of clients is full of "murky" figures. He also represented Imad Lahoud, computer specialist whose name popped up in an corruption investigation in France; Carlos Vejarano, the manager of the Arros Island in Seychelles, and used as tax heaven- and these are just a few based on a short google search.

So Pardo has a record of representing a certain kind of clients so it should come as no surprise he also took on the case of Aliyevs, who also fall perfectly well into this category. 

The question now is will this case actually receive any attention in France? So far French TV channel has not responded and many see this as a "warning". But warning to whom? To all international investigative organizations and independent television? 

Aliyev must really have forgotten what independent journalism is having silenced his own journalists...

Defamation against one evil cat- the Internet

Turns out, there exists one very evil cat- the Internet. And its punishment is a new priority for Azerbaijani authorities. According [AZ] to the Director of social- political committee Ali Hasanov "Up until now, Internet has been like a homeless cat, overstepping every boundary, trespassing and no one could face it? Why?!"

"How is it possible that a journalist writing for a paper with a readership of some 10,000 people [probably referring to opposition papers, though I am pretty sure most of our pro- state papers don't have more readership either] is responsible for an article he/she writes but nobody is responsible for the information read on the Internet by 3million or 10million people. This cannot be possible, this is really "lawlesness" ["bespredel"]". 

Interesting- I wonder if Ali Hasanov intends to monitor and control most if not all of the cyberspace. Who knows?! What we do know is Azerbaijan's current population stands at approximately 9.4million. The total percentage of those even with an access varies depending on which source you look at- state vs. independent. The State Fund for the Development of IT under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technologies (MCIT) reports 48% of computer use and 65% of Internet use in the country in 2011. Now these are pretty high indicators when compared to the data provided by the Caucasus Research Resource Center's (CRRC) Caucasus Barometer. In their calculations, the center reports the following (for the year of 2012):

• - 59% of Azerbaijanis never used Internet;
• - 12% of Azerbaijanis didn't know what Internet was [as a result of lack of education and information there are few directions in the understanding of what Internet is, ranging from open access to online port and unethical behavior to unnecessary tool, to the evil of all evils and etc.- I should mention that the "innovative" understanding of Internet becomes worse in regions of the country];
• - 19% of Azerbaijanis used Internet once a week or more;
• - 7% of Azerbaijanis used Internet once a month or less;

Now back to Mr. Hasanov. So if we take these statistics into account, either Mr. Hasanov thinks Azerbaijan has bigger population, or knows something what we don't know at all. Which would explain the sudden and wide gap between the 3million and 10million people reference. And well, the access to and use of Internet is a whole different thing. Oh and then there is the gender factor- majority of Internet users in Azerbaijan are men. It is considered an act of shame to walk into an Internet cafe somewhere in a village as a girl- who will marry her then?! Because that is a bigger and more important question...

So, beware the dangerous, bad cat, Ali Hasanov is after you!

To read more about the Defamation Law, visit here.

 

"Spotlight on Azerbaijan"

This a recent report (May 12, 2012) published by the Foreign Policy Center on Azerbaijan, the country's pressing human rights record, corruption, rule of law, freedom of expression and more. 

 

Spotlight on Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Eurovision, Democracy

I just received this through OSI mailing list. Interesting and worth reading about upcoming Eurovision contest in Azerbaijan and the country's current "state-of-mind" when it comes to freedom of expression, democratic values and journalists' rights.

Azerbaijan's Euro- Vision: What Perspectives for Democracy and Human Rights?

Journalism Toolkit

This is a toolkit I have been working on for the last few days at the School of Authentic Journalism 2012. I gave a plenary on these tools last night but wanted to share it here as well as I think there are some useful tools for not only journalists but also bloggers. There are few references to useful tools as well as online security and some useful links to websites that give extensive information on movement organizing, protecting rights, ensuring online security and what not. Feel free to share and comment if you have additional suggestions and I will happily include them in the text. 

Journalism Toolkit

Blackmailing at its best- the case of Khadija Ismayil (UPDATED see links below)

While I am posting this days after the letter is sent, I still wanted to share this important document, signed by MEPs at the European Parliament, addressing the recent blackmailing scandal against well known Azerbaijani investigative journalist, Khadija Ismayil.

Khadija received a package at her home address in Baku on the International Women's Day (surely this was no coincidence but further attempt to humiliate this person). The package contained photos of intimate nature and a threat note with inappropriate language- if Khadija was not to immediately give an end to her work as a journalist she was to face heavy consequences.

Here is the full letter addressing this incident and the reaction of the Parliament.

With Eurovision so close, such threats only illustrate Azerbaijan's attitude to "ensuring" freedom of expression in this country. It should come as no surprise, but perhaps, this would give those who advocate for Azerbaijan being a true democracy a gist of what is going on beneath the glitz and glam of it all. But then again... It all depends on who is judging...

European Parliament Letter to the President of Azerbaijan

Amnesty International "Azerbaijan: Secret sex video used to smear investigative journalist"
Global Voices Online "Azerbaijan: Investigative Journalist Defiant After Blackmail Threat"
The Independent "Sex video used to blackmail Azerbaijani journalist"

The School of Authentic Journalism 2012

I wrote about my experience at the J-School last year. You can too become a part of this unforgettable experience this coming year. So if you are interested, please follow the following link on more application related details. You can also e-mail the following address to request an application package: 2012applicaton@narconews.com

Deadline is December 28th, so don't miss out. The application is also available in Spanish which you can request from the same e-mail provided above. 

Good luck and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Have you heard of Sourcefabric?

Journalism Postcard

What is Sourcefabrcic?

According to its Facebook page Info section Sourcefabric

is a non- for- profit organization that enables quality journalist worldwide through open source software and services. 

To many of you know who does know it, Sourcefabric was formerly known as Campware and is currently based in Prague, Berlin and Toronto. 

Their team is available for 

consultation, implementation, software development, training, long- term support, harware installation, hosting and anything else that helps media organizations achieve their goals. 

This and much more you can read on Sourcefabric's website. 

Journalism Postcard

Why am I writing about this? Well, first because two people whom I had the privilege to meet and get to know through my work, Douglas Arellanes and Jakub Gornicki are part of this interesting project and these are my two cents in spreading the word :) And second, I couldn't not share this new kid on the block.

Their two main products- Airtime and Newscoop- open new and old doors for journalists and all those who say journalism is out as its their way to say that journalism is in fact back, that its pretty cool and innovative even. 

So prepare yourself some coffee, get over here and start reading this contribution to journalist world and hope you enjoy it!

Below are the rest of the postcards:

'Azerbaijan: Journalists facing violence and prosecution'

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch, released a new report on Azerbaijan today. The report, "Beaten, Blacklisted and Behind Bars: the Vanishing Space for Freedom of Expression in Azerbaijan" documents Azerbaijani authorities persisting efforts to limit freedom of expression in the country. 

The report calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to:

[...] free imprisoned journalists and repeal criminal libel laws that allow public officials and others to bring criminal charges against journalists and activists. It should also prosecute violence or threats against reporters, which now go unpunished.

"Passenger"

This is the title of a short movie/ project, prepared by two young journalists from Armenia and Azerbaijan. The idea is very creative I have to say. Two taxi drivers- Armenian and Azerbaijani- drive around their cities- Yerevan and Baku- listening to Azerbaijani and Armenian (respectively) music and asking their passengers what do they think of the other. 

My first impressions: it made me feel sad, because watching it, whether you want it or not, the reality hits you. While, many young people from both sides are engaged in joint projects, conversations, meetings and initiatives- working together to break the walls of long- lasting mistrust- still, many if not majority on both sides, think of the other as "an enemy". 

The movie also shows, how little the two sides know of each other, something thats been generated as a result of long and thus as a result deeply embedded stereotypes. 

Though, overall, I found the initiative engaging, the lack of passengers talking from the Azerbaijani side, makes the movie rather weak especially in terms of understanding both sides' thinking (if thats what this project aims at, and I believe thats what it is). I would say, thats the biggest minus of this movie. 

Пассажир from eurasiaam on Vimeo.