Azerbaijan aims to “completely silence” media ahead of presidential election

Independent media in Azerbaijan are under unprecedented attack since a campaign of politically motivated arrests launched by authorities at the end of November. In the space of a few weeks, authorities have put more journalists behind bars than over the past decade.

On January 15, police in Baku detained independent journalist Shahin Rzayev, the latest target of a campaign of intimidation by the Azerbaijani government, which began with the detention of Abzas Media director Ulvi Hasanli on November 20, as IPI previously reported. While Rzayev was released within days, no fewer than 11 Azerbaijani journalists are still held in custody as part of the current wave of repression.

Their detentions took place in the context of the announcement of early presidential elections in Azerbaijan, to be held on February 7. The authoritarian incumbent, Ilham Aliyev, is poised to win, in a climate of near-total absence of legal political opposition.

“Smuggling of foreign currency”

Five of the arrested journalists are collaborators of independent online outlet Abzas Media and face various charges linked to alleged “smuggling of foreign currency” into Azerbaijan. The charges are based on the sole fact that police reportedly found 40,000 euros in cash at the outlet’s office.

Additionally, authorities have jailed two journalists linked to Kanal-13: its director, Aziz Orujov, and a former journalist with the outlet, Shamo Emin, eventually also charging both with “smuggling of foreign currency”.

Hafiz Babali, the economics editor of leading Azerbaijani news agency Turan, was also arrested on the same charges, on December 13.

On December 11, police also detained Teymur Kerimov, the founder and director of online outlet Kanal 11. The journalist is facing charges of extortion, which were also brought against Ibrahim Humbatov and Arshad Ibrahimov,the editors of Azer.info and Dunyaninsesi.az, respectively.

Several more activists and politicians were also put behind bars over the past two months on politically motivated charges.

“Emotional outrage” in journalistic community

While Azerbaijani journalists and civic activists are not unaccustomed to the harsh methods employed by local authorities, many were taken aback by the scale of the current crackdown.

“I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this before,” said Arzu Geybulla, an independent Azerbaijani journalist and writer based in Istanbul. She described the current crackdown as “massive” and said it will remain a serious obstacle for the future work of Azerbaijani independent media.

However, regardless of the current “emotional outrage” it has caused in the country’s journalistic community, many are committed to continue revealing abuses by local authorities, Geybulla told IPI.

The shock created by the recent arrests was shared by Orkhan Mammad, a journalist at Meydan TV, an exiled Azerbaijani news outlet, who told IPI that there was a “mood of depression” among Azerbaijani media workers in the country and abroad. Previous mass crackdowns were directed at NGOs and, in any case, never targeted “more than four-five people at a time,” Mammad said. This shows an intention to “completely silence” independent media ahead of the upcoming presidential elections, he added.

Meanwhile, those who are not in custody fear they are being followed, Mammad explained, saying that there was no knowing whom authorities would target next.&