OCCRP Reporter Blackmailed
HETQ
22:48, March 7, 2012
By Valerie Hopkins
OCCRP regional coordinator and Radio Liberty Baku Bureau’s
correspondent and radio hostKhadija Ismaylova has been blackmailed
with photos purportedly showing the reporter engaged in sexual
relations.
Ismaylova received an envelope stamped from a Moscow, Russia address
containing pictures that the sender said showed Khadija with an
unidentified man.
The package included 6 pictures of an intimate nature and a note that
read, `Whore, behave. Or you will be defamed.’
Ismaylova will not confirm or deny the authenticity of the photos
saying that someone’s personal life is nobody’s business.
This is not the first time Ismaylova, who frequently investigates and
reports on corruption, has been subject to government attempts to
silence her.
U.S. diplomatic cables leaked by whistleblower site Wikileaks show
that the Azeri government tried in the past to discredit Radio Liberty
and Ismaylova.
In a January 23, 2012 cable detailing a meeting between Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Matthew Bryza, U.S. officials say Aliyev requested that Ismaylova be
removed from her position as Bureau Chief because she was `a long-time
opposition activist who considers herself to be an enemy of the
government.’
According to the cable, the President said the support for Radio
Liberty and Ismaylova was unusual for a strategic partner. `The
President said that they were looking for a simple change in direction
at Radio Liberty,’ the cable read.
Ismaylova’s colleagues at OCCRP said the organization supports
Ismaylova and condemned the tactics.
`Khadija is one of the best and most courageous investigative
journalists in our network. She is uncovering high level corruption in
Azerbaijan and she is an inspiration to a new generation of
investigative reporters,’ said Paul Radu, OCCRP Executive Director.
`This is a clear attempt to intimidate a journalist who is simply
doing her job. We support Khadija and will continue to support her
work,’ said Drew Sullivan, OCCRP Advising Editor.
`It should be made clear to those in Azerbaijan who are behind this,
that many reporters will support Khadija and help her and other
Azerbaijani reporters root out those corrupt persons behind this and
other crimes against the people.’
Another cable from October 2008 raised alarm that pressure on the
media increased in Azerbaijan following Aliyev’s ascendancy to the
presidency following his father Heydar Aliyev’s death.
`Media contacts state that media in Azerbaijan has worsened under a
`personally insecure’ president, who has condoned a clampdown on
influential, critical media outlets. They point to a number of
factors behind the gradual, but steady, decline in media freedom since
Ilham Aliyev took office in 2003, including: GOAJ [Government of
Azerbaijan] harassment of journalists, the judiciary’s lack of
independence, a limited advertising market that is dominated by
pro-government publications, self-censorship, and a lack of
professionalism in Azerbaijan’s media industry.’
Ismaylova says she is not the first journalist to be a victim of
similar intimidation.
In October 2010, just weeks before parliamentary elections, a
pro-government station, TV Lider, attracted public ire when it
broadcast a video clip of a person from an opposition newspaper
engaged in explicit sexual activity.
It was widely perceived as a government attempt to discredit the
opposition in the run up to the elections. The National Television
and Radio Council took no action to condemn the broadcast or the
invasion of privacy.
A recent example occurred last year when two reporters for the daily
Azadliq were attacked and beaten within ten days of each other.