(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is gravely concerned about the imprisonment of Fuad Qahramanli, a journalist and opposition activist who was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment in November 1998 for having written an article which the government of President Heidar Aliyev deemed to be a “call to social disorder.” **Updates IFEX alerts of 5 May and 20 […]
(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is gravely concerned about the imprisonment of Fuad
Qahramanli, a journalist and opposition activist who was sentenced to 18
months’ imprisonment in November 1998 for having written an article which
the government of President Heidar Aliyev deemed to be a “call to social
disorder.”
**Updates IFEX alerts of 5 May and 20 April 1999**
On 27 November, 1998, Judge Sevil Mamedova of the Baku Municipal Court
sentenced Qahramanli under Article 63-1 (“Call to social disorder”) of the
criminal code of Azerbaijan. The charges were prompted by an article written
by Qahramanli entitled “Meeting Tactics of the Opposition,” which was
confiscated still in draft form during an illegal search of the offices of
the opposition newspaper “Chag”. At the time of his sentencing, he had
already spent nearly six months in a pre-trial detention center.
On the night of 16 June 1998, acting upon a tip that guns were allegedly
hidden in the Baku offices of “Chag”, police from the Ministry of Internal
Affairs raided the newspaper’s offices. Although they did not find any
weapons, they did come across Qahramanli’s article in draft form. It had yet
to be published in any newspaper. Under police pressure to reveal who had
written the article, Qahramanli turned himself in the next day. He was
arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention center, where he was held until
his sentencing. After his arrest, the article was published in the
pro-government newspaper “Khalg Gazeta”, which ran the story of Qahramanli’s
opposition activities and printed the article as an example of his alleged
subversive activities.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
criticism of his government
a
pattern of repression of the opposition press since last October
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that
“everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive
and impart information and ideas…”
unconditionally released from prison
amnesty
scheduled for 28 May, Azerbaijan’s national independence day
Appeals To
His Excellency Heidar Aliyev
President
Office of the President
Ulitsa Levmontova 63
Baku, Azerbaijan
Fax: +994 12 92 06 25
E-mail: president@gov.az
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
