(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 20 July 2001 ARTICLE 19 letter to Azerbaijani President Heydar Alijev in which the organisation expresses its concern over the recent seizure of an independent television station’s broadcasting equipment: HE Heydar Alijev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Office of the President 19 Istiqlaiyyat St. Baku Azerbaijan By […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 20 July 2001 ARTICLE 19 letter to Azerbaijani President Heydar Alijev in which the organisation expresses its concern over the recent seizure of an independent television station’s broadcasting equipment:
HE Heydar Alijev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Office of the President
19 Istiqlaiyyat St.
Baku
Azerbaijan
By fax: 00 994 12 92 06 25
20 July 2001
Dear President Aliyev,
ARTICLE 19, the Global Campaign for Free Expression, is deeply concerned by reports of the seizure of broadcasting equipment worth 1,5 bn. Manats ($320,000) belonging to the independent television station ABA TV. According to our sources, the equipment was seized by the tax authorities on 17 July 2001, while it was being transported from the headquarters of ABA TV. The act followed the announcement of the station’s temporary closure by its President, Mr Faig Zulfugarov, on the evening of 16 July. In a later press release, Mr Zulfugarov claimed he was forced to cease operations as a result of pressure by the Azeri authorities. ABA TV has been under investigation by the tax authorities for several months and the station’s chief financial officer, Shamil Safiyev, remains in prison since his arrest on 22 May 2001 on charges of tax evasion.
ARTICLE 19 has strong reasons to believe that the seizure of ABA TV’s equipment is related to the efforts of your government to exercise greater control over the operation of ABA TV, which recently became the first station in Azerbaijan to broadcast daily half-hour licensed CNN newscasts translated into Azeri. Furthermore, confiscation of valuable equipment vital to the operation of a media outlet is never justified in the course of a tax investigation, and is an unwarranted restriction on the right to freedom of expression.
Independent broadcasters such as ABA TV are essential to ensure that a diversity of information and opinions is present in the public sphere. We note with regret that the closure of ABA TV reduces the number of independent stations in Azerbaijan, a country of 8 million people, to 12 – a poor comparison to a total of 100 independent broadcasters operating in Georgia and Armenia, whose combined populations amount to 7 million.
Furthermore, in common with other independent broadcasters in Azerbaijan, ABA TV has been unable to obtain a licence for its operating frequency, its previous broadcasting licence having expired in June 2001. In February 2001, ARTICLE 19 wrote to you concerning the closure by the authorities of two other independent broadcasting stations, TV DMR and TV Mingechevi, for not holding official licences to operate, despite having attempted to apply for such licences for a number of years.
As a member of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan is obliged to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10 of which states that “everyone has the right to freedom of expression” and restrictions to the right are justifiable only in the most extreme circumstances. Article 10 also establishes that media outlets have a right to operate and “to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority” [emphasis added].
Although Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights permits the licensing of private broadcasters, international standards require that at a minimum:
– the process for allocating broadcasting licenses is independent and non-discriminatory;
– licenses must be allocated by a body that is independent of government; and
– licenses should only be revoked in extreme circumstances.
ARTICLE 19 therefore urges your government to:
– immediately intervene with the Tax Ministry to establish the reasons for the seizure of the equipment and order its immediate return to ABA TV;
– take immediate steps to reverse the current deterioration of the conditions of media freedom in Azerbaijan.
We also wish to remind your government of the commitment made at the Council of Europe on the day of Azerbaijan’s accession, to “improve further media legislation and its implementation,” in line with Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights and other international standards guaranteeing freedom of expression.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Puddephatt
Executive Director
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
HE Heydar Alijev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Office of the President
19 Istiqlaiyyat St.
Baku, Azerbaijan
Fax: +994 12 92 06 25
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