At the end of February, Holly Cartner Executive Director Europe and Central Asia division Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, expressing the deep concern about the rapidly deteriorating environment for independent media in Azerbaijan. The letter urged the President to take steps to end impunity for violence against journalists and ensure that Azerbaijan complies with its international commitments to freedom of expression and the press. (28-FEB-07)

Placed on web by Shahla Ismailova/HRH Baku
 
The letter says:
Vibrant public discourse based on freedom of expression and a diversity of views, provided through diverse sources of information, is a cornerstone of any democracy. It is hard to underestimate the role of independent media in ensuring a free and fair vote. We are deeply concerned that current restrictions on freedom of the press and of expression, if allowed to continue, will prevent free and fair elections in 2008.
We are particularly alarmed by violent attacks against members of the opposition press, which are often perpetrated in public and in broad daylight, but which rarely result in thorough investigations or perpetrators being held accountable. Other matters of concern include a dramatic increase in criminal defamation charges being brought against journalists by public officials, impediments to ANS TV´s license renewal, resulting in a brief suspension of its broadcasting, as well as the eviction of opposition Azadlig paper from its office premises, and the temporary closure of Realny Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan, two of Azerbaijan´s most read publications.
 
Violent Attacks and Threats against Journalists Human Rights Watch has received numerous reports of threats and violent attacks by anonymous assailants against Azeri journalists. Many journalists interviewed by Human Rights Watch believe that they were attacked or threatened because of articles they had written that were critical of government officials. In most cases, journalists report that their assailants made reference to their reporting during the attack.
 
As the above cases indicate, there is a growing environment of state hostility toward independent and opposition media and that raises serious concern about the security of independent journalists in Azerbaijan. What is more, there is widespread impunity for such attacks. We urge you to ensure that there is no government pressure on Azerbaijan´s independent media outlets and that journalists can work in safety, and to task the appropriate government ministries to take the necessary steps to promptly investigate all reports of violence or threats against journalists and hold all perpetrators accountable. We would welcome information on the steps you take to send a clear signal to all government institutions that you will not tolerate impunity for such attacks. We would also be interested in receiving information about the extent to which the perpetrators have been identified, charged, and convicted in any of the cases documented in this letter, as well as details about the sentences given. As described above, government officials have also made use of criminal libel laws and other politically motivated criminal charges to punish journalists for criticism of government policies or officials, and in such cases journalists rarely obtain a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal. In several cases the charges have resulted in the permanent closure of independent media outlets. We urge you to announce a legal moratorium on criminal lawsuits against journalists and meanwhile initiate legislative amendments transferring the libel, defamation, and verbal insult provisions from the Criminal Code to the Civil Law domain. The Civil Code should also be amended to establish a reasonable monetary cap on damages in civil defamation suits.

We also call on you to ensure that no additional administrative obstacles are created for ANS or other such broadcasters in their quest for a broadcast license and that all regulations related to broadcast licensing are applied in a manner that ensures media diversity in Azerbaijan.