IGF2012 through Storify

"Azerbaijan: in the shadow of dictatorship"

Came across this report by accident when searching for news on Azerbaijan online. Excellent job capturing Azerbaijan and its present. 

You can access the original report here.

Azerbaijan: in the shadow of dictatorship

'Sex and blackmail in Azerbaijan'

Hear more about corruption, blackmail and repressive Aliyev family in this video by Al Jazeera Stream.

It blew me away when the representative of official Azerbaijan said "let it go" while referring to Khadija Ismayilova's case. I wonder if she would have said the same if a similar sex tape and scandal surrounded her and her life.

I will stop here and let you make your own decision.

Liar, liar, pants on fire...

Azerbaijan is a country that recently gained a world wide reputation for a number of things. For starters, it is now known for being the highest spender on the pop and cheesy song contest known as Eurovision. It also made itself known for the Crystal Hall, the Flame Towers, the Old Town, the New Fountain Square and some bits of the downtown Baku. And of course, "Azerbaijan, the land of" phrase that captured attention of foreigners who were hearing the name of this country for the very first time. 

But then, as TV commercial ads were boasting of beautiful and mesmerizing Azerbaijan, something else caught the attention of outsiders. Azerbaijan wasn't just known for its nature, colorful culture and architecture. Behind that Azerbaijan was another, hidden country, where rights of its very own people are oppressed, where journalists are punished for their work, where free words and free spirits are under constant scrutiny and more... 

It is up to outsiders to decide which of the Azerbaijans they prefer- glitz and glamor and so- called "hidden treasures" or the country where real life conditions are not so glitzy and glamorous. For those who choose the latter, here is an interesting resolution adopted on June 26th (a month after the Eurovision contest) by the Committee of Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe on political prisoners in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani government calls these reports and analysis black pr and lies. I call it simple reflection of the truth and reality. Facts are facts, no one (including Council of Europe) would make so much noise out of this if everything was as perfect as Azerbaijani government claims it to be.

You can read more about resolution here.

Struggle continues

While Mehman Huseynov was released (though the hooliganism charges still stand until investigation is over), Azerbaijani government still remains a repressive regime charging innocent men with hooliganism and drug possession. The struggle must continue and further attempts of arrests on bogus charges must end.

The Eurovision might be over, the spotlight is gone, but the country remains known for its poor human rights record and free press. And while Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton gave a clear sign that democracy in Azerbaijan is not a priority for the US anymore and so have EU officials (well, some of them to say the least, in particular Council of Europe), I am hopeful that Azerbaijan has the potential to change and become the true democracy. Its human rights advocates deserve it. Its journalists deserve it. Its people deserve it.

So the struggle still continues...

A storm is coming- a new wave of repression in Azerbaijan after Eurovision (Updated)

Updated (June 13th):
Today, June 13th, following a court hearing, Meham Huseynov, was officially released! Congratulations to all friends and supporters!
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And here we go... Its only been some weeks after Eurovision but already a new wave of repression is taking place in Azerbaijan. This time, the target is a young photojournalist and a blogger Mehman Huseynov. According to BBC Azerbaijani service [AZ] Huseynov received a subpoena from the police calling him into questioning based on article 221.1 of the Criminal Code- "blamed for hooliganism while showing resistance to government agent fulfilling his duty while protecting the public order or showing resistance to government agent preventing distortion of public order or resisting another person". But the subpoena fails to notify Huseynov whether he is called in as a witness or as a perpetrator. 

The BBC article reports that the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that young journalist resisted police during a rally organized in front of the Baku City Administrative Office.

I will share more updates as soon as there are any. But so far, this looks nothing less than a new wave of repression by Azerbaijani authorities against young advocates. Looks like there is even an encouragement especially following recent visit by Hilary Clinton to Azerbaijan and little attention that was given to democracy and human rights abuses taking place sporadically and with no valid explanations. The question is, who is going to be next? The whole country?

Updated on June 12th, 2012:
Mehman Huseynov was taken into police custody tonight. He will be held there for two days despite absence of court decision. He is facing a charge on hooliganism and is facing imprisonment. According to this article in Radio Free Europe [AZ] local service, he is facing a year in prison if accusations are proved true. Mehman is also the employee of the Institute for Reporter's Freedom and Safety. Follow this Facebook group for more updates on the case: http://www.facebook.com/groups/375346329198459/?notif_t=group_added_to_group

Here are some links (visit the Facebook page as well for more updates) with Mehman's work:
- http://azerbaijan.usembassy.gov/pr_09212010.html - Mehman, 2010 winner of Democracy Challenge US State Dept. Photo Challenge;
- http://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/zapp/medien_politik_wirtschaft/baku207.html - this recent German mini documentary on Eurovision featuring Mehman;
- http://www.youtube.com/user/HOSTEL19AZ - Mehman's personal YouTube channel with over 2.5million views

Jabbar Savalan's sentence stays intact (updated)

Today, the judge at the Supreme Court, rejected the appeal of Savalan, young activist and a member of the youth branch of an opposition party the Popular Front of Azerbaijan. The judge, Imran Hajiyev made this decision despite Savalan's absence (allegedly he was informed of the trial however was still absent at the trial) and pleads of Savalan's lawyer to drop initially assigned charges of 2.5 years for illegal possession of drugs. And though, Savalan's lawyer made every single violation of the hearing and the overall investigation process clear, the judge, declared the verdict. 

To read more about the story click here [ENG] and here [AZ].
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Updated: Check out Amnesty International statement on the court as well here.