31 December 2009

Alert

Authorities trump up new charge against award-winning editor Eynulla Fatullayev


Incident details

Charges laid

Eynulla Fatullayev, Editor
(CPJ/IFEX) - New York, December 30, 2009 - The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a new criminal charge filed against imprisoned Azerbaijani editor Eynulla Fatullayev, a 2009 recipient of CPJ's International Press Freedom Award. Based on Fatullayev's account and the government's long record of persecuting the editor, CPJ believes the charge to be fabricated.

On Tuesday, guards at Prison Colony No. 12 in Baku claimed to have searched Fatullayev's cell and discovered 0.22 grams of heroin in a jacket, according to press reports and CPJ sources. Fatullayev categorically denied possessing the drug and said it was planted on him, defense lawyer Isakhan Ashurov told CPJ. Ashurov, who met with his client today, said Fatullayev had been placed in solitary confinement and was questioned today for four hours.

Baku police charged Fatullayev with narcotics possession, which is punishable by three years in prison. He is already serving an eight-and-a-half-year prison term on politically motivated charges of defamation, incitement of ethnic hatred, terrorism, and tax evasion. The government began prosecuting Fatullayev after his reporting on the 2005 murder of colleague Elmar Huseynov had found a government cover-up in the unsolved slaying.

"We call on authorities with the Azerbaijani Penitentiary Service and the Garadag District Police to drop this new, farcical charge against our colleague Eynulla Fatullayev and to investigate those who planted the drugs on him," said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova. "Azerbaijani authorities have a record of planting narcotics to silence critics. This shameful practice must be stopped at once."

The timing of the new charge points to government fabrication, Ashurov said. The charge was filed as the European Court of Human Rights deliberates a case brought by Fatullayev against the government of Azerbaijan, which alleges unjust prosecution. The journalist's father, Emin Fatullayev, told the Azerbaijani service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the new charge would ensure his son would remain in jail no matter what the European Court found. The court, based in Strasbourg, France, has authority to review the actions of domestic courts, issue rulings, and levy sanctions. As a member of the Council of Europe and a signer of the European Convention on Human Rights, Azerbaijan is bound by the court's decision.

CPJ research also shows that Azerbaijani authorities have a history of planting drugs to silence critical journalists. In June 2006, Baku police arrested Sakit Zakhidov, a prominent reporter, poet, and satirist with the pro-opposition newspaper Azadlyg, on heroin charges. Zakhidov denied the charge and said a police officer placed the drug in his pocket during a staged arrest. Three days prior to the arrest, Executive Secretary Ali Akhmedov of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party had publicly urged authorities to silence Zakhidov. "No government official or member of parliament has avoided his slanders. Someone should put an end to it," the regional news Web site EurasiaNet quoted Akhmedov as saying. A Baku court sentenced Zakhidov to three years in prison in October 2006. He was released in April, having served all but two and a half months of his term.

The government has also been a persistent jailer of journalists throughout the past decade, CPJ research shows. With six writers and editors now in prison, Azerbaijan is the seventh worst jailer of journalists in the world.

The new charge against Fatullayev is the latest instance of the government's years-long persecution of the editor. His two newspapers, the Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language daily Gündalik Azarbaycan, both of which reported critically about the government, are now closed.

The government began targeting Fatullayev in early 2007, shortly after he wrote an article to mark the second anniversary of the murder of his one-time editor and mentor Huseynov. The piece, published in Realny Azerbaijan and headlined "Lead and Roses," accused Azerbaijani authorities of deliberately obstructing the investigation into Huseynov's killing and ignoring evidence that could lead to the masterminds.

Four days after the piece ran, on March 6, 2007, Fatullayev's mother received an anonymous phone call. As a "wise woman," the caller said, she should "talk sense" into her son or "we will send him to Elmar." Fatullayev reported the threat to the police, but it was he who came under intense investigation.

In April 2007, a Yasamal District Court judge convicted Fatullayev of defaming Azerbaijanis in an Internet posting that was falsely attributed to the journalist. The posting, published on several Web sites, said Azerbaijanis bore some responsibility for the 1992 killings of residents of the restive Nagorno-Karabakh region, according to local news reports. Fatullayev was sentenced to a 30-month term and was jailed immediately. After he was taken into custody, authorities proceeded to evict his two newspapers from their Baku offices, citing purported fire safety and building code violations.

More charges against the editor followed. In October 2007, a judge in the Azerbaijani Court of Serious Crimes found Fatullayev guilty of terrorism, incitement to ethnic hatred, and tax evasion. Fatullayev's sentences were consolidated, and he was ordered to serve eight years and six months in prison in all.

The terrorism and incitement charges stemmed from a Realny Azerbaijan commentary headlined "The Aliyevs Go to War," which analyzed possible consequences for Azerbaijan if the United States were to wage war with Iran. The piece sharply criticized the Azerbaijani government's foreign policy. The tax case was filed after Fatullayev was jailed on other charges and his newspapers had been ousted from their offices, making it impossible to collect the records needed to mount a defense.

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What other IFEX Members are Saying

In latest provocative move, authorities say heroin found on imprisoned journalist (RSF)
Eynulla Fatullayev's sentence expected to be increased by three years (IRFS)
Eynulla Fatullayev sentenced to pre-trial detention (IRFS)

More on this case

Journalist Eynulla Fatullayev granted amnesty in honour of 28 May holiday 27 May 2011 Joint appeal to UNESCO director-general over Fatullayev case 4 May 2011 Government claims to have complied with ECHR judgment on Fatullayev case 4 May 2011 "Fifty Fatullayevs" outside London Embassy demand release of jailed Azerbaijani journalist 19 April 2011 Family of imprisoned journalist receives threatening phone call 13 April 2011 CPJ concerned about Fatullayev's safety, calls for his release 23 March 2011 Council of Europe Committee of Ministers must demand journalist's release, says International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan 2 March 2011 Fatullayev fears for his safety in prison 11 February 2011 Baku Appeals Court denies Fatullayev's appeal, defies ECHR ruling 3 February 2011 Supreme Court rejects imprisoned editor's appeal 3 January 2011 Council of Europe Committee calls on government to release Eynulla Fatullayev 8 December 2010 Fatullayev's fate lies with the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, says ARTICLE 19 6 December 2010 Editor Eynulla Fatullayev remains jailed despite ECHR call for his release 12 November 2010 In latest humiliation, newspaper editor appears in court inside cage 8 November 2010 Send a letter in support of jailed editor 29 October 2010 Joint letter calls for newspaper editor's release 28 October 2010 ECHR upholds decision on release of Eynulla Fatullayev 21 October 2010 Authorities say imprisoned journalist will not be freed regardless of appeal outcome 22 July 2010 Imprisoned editor sentenced to an additional two and a half years in prison 7 July 2010 IRFS appeals to president as imprisoned editor starts hunger strike 7 June 2010 Comply with European Court decision on case of imprisoned journalist, ARTICLE 19, International PEN urge 19 May 2010 Authorities urged to comply with ECHR order and release editor Eynulla Fatullayev 23 April 2010 European Court of Human Rights orders journalist's release 23 April 2010 Eynulla Fatullayev's appeal rejected 18 March 2010 Eynulla Fatullayev and family threatened 18 March 2010 Imprisoned editor concerned over possible threat to his life 3 March 2010 Editor's detention prolonged by two more months 1 March 2010 CPJ delegation calls for Eynulla Fatullayev's release 22 January 2010 Editor to be tried on new charge, sentenced to two months' detention in isolation unit 6 January 2010 Detained journalist harassed in prison 27 October 2008 Supreme Court upholds editor's conviction 4 June 2008 Imprisoned editor starts hunger strike to protest jailing of journalists 26 March 2008 Appeals court upholds conviction of critical editor 17 January 2008 Outspoken editor Eynulla Fatullayev sentenced to eight and a half years in prison 30 October 2007 Supreme Court upholds editor's prison sentence 27 August 2007 New terrorism charge brought against opposition editor already serving 30-month sentence for defamation 6 July 2007 Imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev receives death threats, inhumane treatment; his conviction confirmed 8 June 2007 Fifteen journalists seek political asylum in protest against closure of newspapers 29 May 2007 Imprisoned editor Eynulla Fatullayev charged with terrorism; his home searched, his newspaper's computers, documents confiscated 24 May 2007 Imprisoned editor target of death threat; two newspapers evicted amid media harassment campaign 22 May 2007 Editor of critical newspaper brutally beaten after protesting conviction of colleague 24 April 2007 Embattled editor jailed for libel and insult over article he denies writing 23 April 2007

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