SALACIOUS VIDEO DEFAMES JOURNALIST CRITICAL OF AZERBAIJANI GOVERNMENT
By Ben Brumfield
CNN
t=wo_t3
March 19, 2012 — Updated 2004 GMT (0404 HKT)
The video was recorded via a hidden camera in the bedroom of
journalist Khadija Ismayilova.
The video was recorded via a hidden camera in the bedroom of
journalist Khadija Ismayilova.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* An investigative journalist in Azerbaijan is under fire for a
sexually explicit video
* The video was recorded via hidden camera and posted online to
defame her
* Khadija Ismayilova believes the government is behind the smear
campaign
* The government denies this and has blamed it on ‘subversive
forces’
(CNN) — A compromising video has appeared on the Internet of an
investigative journalist who has been extensively reporting on
government corruption in Azerbaijan.
Khadija Ismayilova, a radio talk show host, is afraid the sexually
explicit images could ignite religious rage against her in the
conservative country.
The video was recorded via a hidden camera in her bedroom and then
posted anonymously on a website imitating the homepage of the New
Equality Party, a rival of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party.
Social mores in the Muslim society are not as strict as they are
in neighboring Iran, Ismayilova says, but they’re “similar to rural
Turkey.” Honor killings for behavior outside of accepted morals are
a reality in Azerbaijan.
The video surfaced a week after Ismayilova received a threatening
letter by mail “containing photos of a personal nature,” according
to a news release from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a democracy
advocacy organization that broadcasts her shows and publishes articles
that she writes.
“I received a package with pictures suggesting I have a sexual life,”
Ismayilova said, “and the note saying: ‘You whore, behave. Or you
will be defamed.’ ”
Radio host Khadija Ismayilova has been highly critical of the
Azerbaijani government.
Radio host Khadija Ismayilova has been highly critical of the
Azerbaijani government.
People in high places could have reason to be angry with Ismayilova for
her reporting. She has written articles implying that the daughters of
President Ilham Aliyev could have a secret ownership stake in Azerfon,
the country’s major mobile telecom company. She has also connected
the president’s family to the ownership of a bank and alleged that
the relationship was used for shady dealings.
Presidential spokesman Elnur Aslanov declined to comment on
Ismayilova’s stories, but he condemned the video a day after it
surfaced, blaming it on “subversive forces who try to violate the
stability in Azerbaijan.”
Aslanov also said Thursday that authorities “will make all efforts
to identify and punish the persons who are behind this dirty action.”
Ismayilova, however, calls the spokesman’s statements “absolutely
insincere … absolutely outrageous.” She believes that the government
is punishing her for her stories.
After all, the ruling party has raked her over the coals in print,
she said, tying her ethnic background to Armenia.
Tensions run high between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed
breakaway region Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as Armenia’s military
occupation of adjacent Azerbaijani territory. Creating the impression
that Ismayilova is connected to Armenia can easily stoke additional
passions against her with the Azerbaijani public.
“They’ve been accusing me of working for the enemies of the country,”
she said.
One day before the contentious video of Ismayilova surfaced, an
article appeared on a pro-government news website, again bringing up
questions about her ethnic background. It also attacked her private
life: “Khadija is a permanent resident of Baku’s expensive bars and
clubs. She never hid her affection for alcohol and fast living. She
often makes fun of the upbringing and values of Azerbaijani women.”
A day after the video appeared, a pro-government newspaper called Iki
Sahil wrote, “In her articles very often Khadija would say ‘give me a
freedom’ and it looks like she got enough ‘freedom’ now,” according
to Radio Liberty’s translation. The article went on to describe
salacious details of the video and pointed out where it could be
found on the Internet.
Journalist advocacy groups across the world have called on the
personal attacks to stop. “Azerbaijan must halt smear campaign
against reporter,” read a news release from the Committee to Protect
Journalists on the day the video appeared. Reporters Without Borders
opened its reaction statement with the word “despicable.”
They say this has happened before.
“Journalists in Azerbaijan are frequently subjected to smear or
intimidation campaigns as punitive action and are sometimes forced
to leave the country,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said,
citing its own research.
Nina Ognianova, the committee’s program coordinator for Europe
and Central Asia, said Azerbaijan is one of the most authoritarian
countries she has covered.
“In 2009, it was the leading jailor of journalists in the region,
with 11 behind bars,” she said.
She recalled a similar case to Ismayilova’s, one that involved sexual
claims being spread about an independent journalist. The journalist
was portrayed by pro-government media as being homosexual.
“The labeling put the journalist in peril,” Ognianova said. “He
almost died in a stabbing attack, and someone tried to push him under
a train.”
The government, however, disputes accusations that it represses
journalism.
“Azerbaijan is an open democratic state with free media,” said
presidential spokesman Aslanov, who is also head of the country’s
Political Analysis and Information Department.
The Aliyev family has held on to power for nearly four decades. The
current president’s father, Heydar Aliyev, was in office for almost
30 years before he died. The current president ascended to the office
in a landslide election that was boycotted by opposition parties and
criticized as below standards by the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, which monitors elections internationally.
The former Soviet republic has recently raised its profile on the
international stage. It was elected to the U.N. Security Council in
October and has put in a bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.
But Transparency International, which tracks the perception of
corruption in countries around the world, ranks Azerbaijan slightly
worse than Pakistan, on a level with Belarus and Nigeria. It used to
be lower.
In May, Azerbaijan will host the Eurovision Song Contest, with
participants coming from Europe, North Africa and parts of the Middle
East. Journalists from about 40 countries are also expected, which
will mean increased global press exposure.
Azerbaijan has a reputation to lose and seems to respond to intense,
constant international pressure — “but with a lot of resistance,”
Ognianova said.
“The country has become more sophisticated in their repression of
critical voices,” she said. “The government tactics of sneaky punching
in the gut has happened before.”
The website featuring the Ismayilova video was traced back to a Web
hosting company based in Texas called HostGator. CNN contacted the
company to ask about who posted the website with the video. But despite
multiple requests, a customer service representative refused to connect
CNN with its press office or give out its telephone number. An e-mail
to multiple recipients at the company remains unanswered.
Ismayilova says that although she is now in danger, she wants her
story told.
“It needs to be made public,” she said. “It needs to be turned to
embarrassment for those who are doing it.”
On her Facebook account after receiving the initial photos, she wrote,
“I am convinced and determined that I can withstand any blackmail
campaign against me.”
At that time, she had sent an official letter to the prosecutor’s
office, requesting an investigation. She received no response.
“They never called me,” she said. “They never asked for additional
materials. They never asked for the envelope.”
On Friday, two days after the video appeared, the prosecutor’s office
called her to question her about her request. Officials agreed to open
a criminal case on charges of violation of privacy, she said, and on
Monday they visited her apartment in the presence of her lawyer. But
she is still waiting their response on the persecution of a journalist.
Ismayilova spoke Friday to a gathering of civic society groups
supporting her, and Radio Free Europe streamed it live on its home
page. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty receives funding from the U.S.
government to practice critical journalism in countries where it is
perceived to be less free.
Also Friday, the explicit defaming video disappeared from view in
the U.S. and elsewhere.
“It’s still available in Azerbaijan but not in the Czech Republic,”
said Kenan Aliyev, who runs Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani service from
Prague. “They are targeting Azerbaijan.”
From: A. Papazian
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/19/world/asia/azerbaijan-video-defamation/?hp