Journalist Who Exposed Azeri Abuses Wins UN Prize

JOURNALIST WHO EXPOSED AZERI ABUSES WINS UN PRIZE

asbarez
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012

Azeri journalist Eynulla Fatullayev

PARIS (Combined Sources)-An Azerbaijani journalist who exposed Azeri
human rights violations and was imprisoned for his actions has been
selected to as the winner of the 2012 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize,
the United Nations announced Wednesday.

Eynulla Fatullayev, 35, is former editor-in-chief of the Russian
Language weekly Realny Azerbaijan, as well as the Azeri-language
daily Gundalik Azarbaycan. He is well known for his criticisms of the
Azerbaijani government’s violations of human rights and press freedom.

He endured years of assault and death threats, finally suspending
the publication of both newspapers when his father was kidnapped.

He was imprisoned in 2007 for four years for criticizing government
policies and was released by presidential pardon last year. During his
incarceration, Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect
Journalists lobbied for his release. In 2011, Amnesty International
classified him as a “priority case.”

“Throughout his career, he has unfailingly and steadfastly spoken out
for freedom of the press and freedom of expression,” UNESCO said in
a statement announcing the award.

The award is named for Guillermo Cano, a newspaper publisher murdered
for decrying the powerful drug bosses in his native Colombia in 1987.

The prize was created in 1997 to honor reporters and publishers who
put their lives on the line to promote freedom of expression around
the world.

In his presentation government ministers on Monday, Azerbaijan’s
President Ilham Aliyev said that the Armenian lobby was to blamed for
the international community’s criticism of Baku’s abysmal policy on
human rights and continuous abuses.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress