Azerbaijan: Silencing a Monitor

Mirza Khazar — Mon, 07 Mar 2005 19:42:00 -0500

by Shahin Abbasov

7 March 2005

The Azeri opposition, human rights activists, and fellow journalists say Elmar Huseynov's killing was politically motivated. From EurasiaNet. The shooting death of a prominent opposition journalist has raised Azerbaijan's political temperature. Opposition members, human rights activists, and journalists view the killing as a politically motivated crime, but the authorities, including President Ilham Aliev, are vigorously denying involvement, blaming the murder instead on a mysterious force that seeks to "discredit Azerbaijan in a parliamentary election year." The victim, 38-year-old Elmar Huseynov, editor-in-chief of the opposition Monitor magazine, was buried on 4 March. An unknown assailant shot and killed Huseynov on 2 March in the hallway of his apartment building on the outskirts of Baku. One of Azerbaijan's best-known dissident journalists, Huseynov had frequently tangled with authorities. Lawsuits brought by officials and Aliev relatives resulted in large fines against Monitor in recent years. In 2002, Huseynov received a six-month prison term for allegedly slandering the mayor of Baku but was pardoned and released within two months. With the crime bearing the signs of a contract killing, opposition leaders immediately focused their suspicions on the Aliev administration, labeling Huseynov's death an act of "state terror" designed to stifle criticism of the government. "We could have expected this murder. This action is directed at intimidation of the people," Ali Kerimli, leader of the Popular Front Party, said at a 3 March conference in Baku on media rights. "It is not just the assassination of a journalist. It is an encroachment on the will of the people toward democracy." One international human rights organization largely echoed that evaluation. "This looks like an organized murder that aimed to silence criticism by one magazine and scare off anyone else who was thinking of following in Huseynov's footsteps," Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division, said in a 4 March statement. International reaction likewise tended to assess the killing as a blow against the development of civil society in Azerbaijan. The European Union's mission called Huseynov's death "an attack on free media, democracy, pluralism, and the people of Azerbaijan." A U.S. Embassy statement described Huseynov as "a dedicated champion of media freedom" and "a man who stood up for his beliefs and principles, even in the face of great adversity." Aliev and other officials responded immediately, seeking to dispel any impression that the government was somehow connected to the crime. Administration officials are clearly concerned about the murder's potential to aggravate Azerbaijan's domestic political situation. A 3 March government statement urged that "regardless of its motives, Huseynov's assassination cannot be used for political purposes." In a 3 March interview with local television stations, Aliev reinforced that stance, terming Huseynov's murder "barbaric" and telling viewers that the attack was not in keeping with the country's democratic and economic development. "Those who committed the crime attempted to damage Azerbaijan's international image, to discredit it before the [November 2005] parliamentary elections, and to present the country as an unstable and nondemocratic state, where freedom of speech is violated and acts of terrorism are committed," Aliev told a meeting of the Security Council that same day, the presidential press office reported. Meanwhile, a statement issued by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party appeared to blame the killing on an unnamed "third force" seeking to destabilize the country. It characterized Huseynov's murder as a "provocation intended to whip up tension … and deal a blow to Azerbaijan's international image." Aliev pressed law enforcement officials to capture and prosecute the killer, the Lider television channel reported. To help assuage potential public doubts, Azerbaijani officials have also welcomed the arrival of an expert from the U.S. FBI to assist Azerbaijani police in the murder probe. Beyond the investigation, Aliev urged government officials to refrain from taking legal action against media outlets, potentially signaling that the government intends to ease pressure on opposition media outlets. Human rights advocates have said such lawsuits have been used in the past to impede freedom of expression and prevent opposition parties from conveying their political messages to the public. The president's appeal for restraint--provided that government officials act according to Aliev's stated desire--could have a significant impact on Azerbaijan's political life in 2005. The country is gearing up for parliamentary elections in November--the first nationwide ballot since the controversial 2003 presidential vote, when widespread evidence of vote-rigging in favor of Aliev prompted opposition protests that were forcefully suppressed. Azeri opposition groups have not fully recovered from the government crackdown. Still, political observers believe the November parliamentary vote could provide an important test for opposition parties, helping to gauge the popular appetite for political reforms in this oil-rich South Caucasus state. A freer media climate in Azerbaijan could benefit the opposition, making it easier for presidential critics to present alternative points of view. Dismissing the official rhetoric, many Azeri journalists remain skeptical that the government will vigorously pursue the Huseynov murder case. In an interview with the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Baku Press Club deputy director Chingiz Sultansoy said that Huseynov had received several threats recently and feared for his safety. Expressing little confidence in official investigators, a group of journalists have announced plans to carry out their own murder investigation. Clues to the culprit's identity appear sketchy, even though a pistol with a silencer, believed to be the murder weapon, was found near the crime scene. Neither Huseynov's family members nor his neighbors reported hearing the shots, and no witnesses have come forward. The electricity and telephone service to Huseynov's apartment were cut off at approximately the same time as the shots were fired, estimated to have been 8:30 p.m. on 2 March. Calls from the journalist's cell phone were also reportedly blocked, thereby allegedly preventing his family from immediately summoning an ambulance. Huseynov's murder is the latest in a string of violent attacks by unknown assailants on Azeri journalists over the past year. Eynulla Fatullaev, the deputy editor of Monitor, was badly beaten last year, and the editor of another newspaper, Baki Habar, was kidnapped several months ago. In late February, Lider TV aired footage that showed the editor of the opposition newspaper Azadliq, Ganimat Zahidov, and a colleague nude and accompanied by two prostitutes. Zahidov claims that the photos were taken under threat of violence. New opposition media outlets have also experienced numerous operational delays and difficulties. For example, the registration process for the television and radio station Yeni TV, envisioned as an alternative to Azerbaijan's planned public television system, has ground to a halt with no immediate resolution in sight. Government supporters, citing examples from Georgia and Ukraine, have stated that the station could be used to foster a popular uprising. In response to the delay, Yeni TV's founders are reportedly considering establishing operations outside of Azerbaijan as a satellite news channel. In a recent report, the U.S. State Department qualified human rights conditions in Azerbaijan as "poor," noting that the Azeri government in 2004 "continued to restrict freedom of speech and of the press" and that defamation lawsuits by government officials and stiff court penalties pose "significant problems" for independent media. Shahin Abbasov is a freelance journalist in Azerbaijan. This article originally appeared on EurasiaNet.

The Voice of Mirza Xazar: Azerbaijan: Silencing a Monitor

Azerbaijan: Silencing a Monitor