Written by HRH/Shahla Ismailova with the extracts from press release, IPI

On 11 August 2006, the International Press Institute issued a press released, where the special concern about press freedom in Azerbaijan is reflected (13-AUG-2006)

Shahin Agabayli
Shahin Agabayli, editor-in-chief of the weekly opposition newspaper Milli Yol, was arrested on 9 August and tried on 10 August on four charges. Agabayli was sentenced to a year in prison for allegedly insulting and blackmailing former parliament spokesman Arif Ramhimzadeh in his publication. The charges stem from a 2005 article, although Agabayli reportedly did not write the article and was not editor at the time of its publication.

According to reports, Agabayli also faces criminal defamation charges in a case brought by Interior Minister Ramil Usubov, who claims Agabayli wrote an article linking Usubov to Haji Mamedov, a former Interior Ministry officer facing trial on murder and kidnapping charges.
Without commenting on information contained in the article, IPI is concerned about the continued criminalisation of defamation in Azerbaijan.

Mirza Sakit Zahidov
Mirza Sakit Zahidov, a journalist with the opposition newspaper Azadliq, was arrested on 23 June and indicted on drug charges. His arrest was widely seen as a politically motivated case. It was reported that the charges stem from his publication of several satirical poems in Azadliq that were critical of the authorities. On 25 July the journalist, who is currently held in Bayil prison, began a hunger strike in protest against his arrest on a charge of drug trafficking.

Moreover, it was reported that in July Internet users in Azerbaijan were unable to access http://www.Tinsohbeti.com, a foreign-based satirical blog with articles and cartoons, which criticized and made fun of the Azerbaijani authorities. According to the Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontières, the blog had been made inaccessible from Azerbaijan several times in the past, forcing its publishers to change their Internet address.

Speaking about the press freedom situation in Azerbaijan, IPI Director Johann Fritz said, “The mass media continue to work in a difficult environment.” “IPI strongly condemns Agabayli’s sentence because defamation should never be criminalised,” Fritz said. “Criminal insult laws are an anachronism and should be removed from every legal system.” “We strongly believe that prison terms are never justified for defamation cases, no matter how unsettling or offensive they may seem to those involved,” Fritz continued. “Defamation should be treated under civil law, to be adjucated between the parties by civil courts. Moreover, this latest decision will only encourage greater self-censorship and this is to the detriment of not only the journalism profession, but also the country’s citizens who will be deprived of valuable information.”