FIFTEEN JOURNALISTS SEEK POLITICAL ASYLUM IN PROTEST AGAINST CLOSURE OF NEWSPAPERS
International Freedom of Expression eXpress (IFEX) Canada
May 29 2007
Francais: Après la fermeture de leurs journaux, 15 journalistes
demandent l’asile politique en signe de protestation
Country/Topic: Azerbaijan
Date: 29 May 2007
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s): Uzeir Jafarov
Target(s): editor(s) , journalist(s)
Type(s) of violation(s): harassed
Urgency: Threat
(RSF/IFEX) – Reporters Without Borders today condemned the constant
government harassment of opposition media, which has led 15
journalists working for two daily newspapers, the
Azerbaijani-language "Gundelik Azerbaijan" and the Russian-language
"Realny Azerbaijan", to seek political asylum between 25 and 29 May
2007 after their newspapers were closed the week before. Fearing for
his safety, the editor of the newspaper "Nota Bene" has also
requested asylum.
"First the offices of ‘Gundelik Azerbaijan’ and ‘Realny Azerbaijan’
were shut down for alleged fire safety violations, then on 26 May,
the owner of their premises suddenly rescinded their lease, forcing
them to vacate immediately," Reporters Without Borders said. "They
would have us believe this is just a coincidence. These are the
methods of an authoritarian regime."
The press freedom organisation added: "If President Ilham Aliev wants
to protect the press, he should help these two daily newspapers find
new premises. The 41 employees and contributors to these newspapers
are now without any source of income; some of them feel threatened
and the country’s press is all the poorer."
The 14 "Gundelik Azerbaijan" and "Realny Azerbaijan" journalists
submitted their political asylum requests to the US, German, British
and Norwegian embassies and the office of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). They include "Gundelik
Azerbaijan" editor Uzeir Jafarov, who said they were seeking asylum
because of prosecution, and because arrests and attacks made it
impossible for them to work as journalists.
Jafarov was attacked and beaten on 20 April after giving evidence at
the trial of Eynulla Fatullaev, the founder of "Gundelik Azerbaijan"
and "Realny Azerbaijan", who received a 30-month prison sentence the
same day for "defaming" and "insulting" Azerbaijanis in an article
about Armenia.
The satirical website , whose editor, Habib
Muntezir, is based in Germany, has meanwhile become inaccessible
again since 21 May because of a hacker attack on the host server of
Site5 server. Muntezir is convinced the attack was deliberately
targeted. It is not the first time the site has been attacked.
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