(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – In a 20 September 2000 letter to Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, ARTICLE 19 expressed its extreme concern at reports of the arrest and detention of Rauf Arifoglu, editor of the newspaper “Yeni Musavat”. Arifoglu was officially charged on 29 August with complicity in attempted hijack, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms, under […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – In a 20 September 2000 letter to Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev, ARTICLE 19 expressed its extreme concern at reports of the arrest and detention of Rauf Arifoglu, editor of the newspaper “Yeni Musavat”. Arifoglu was officially charged on 29 August with complicity in attempted hijack, terrorism and illegal possession of firearms, under Article 212-2 (2) and 212-3 (2) of the old Criminal Code, both of which carry a sentence of up to ten years’ imprisonment. ARTICLE 19 is informed that he has now been charged with appealing for a coup d’etat under Article 63 (2) of the same Code, which provides for five years’ imprisonment.
ARTICLE 19 condemns illegal activities such as hijacking. However, according to the organisation’s information, Arifoglu was not involved in the incidents of 18 August, when Mekhti Gusenli attempted to hijack a plane from Nakichivan to Baku. Specifically, ARTICLE 19 has been informed that the hijacker, whose brother is a correspondent for “Yeni Musavat” in Nakichivan, contacted Arifoglu by mobile phone during the hijack to tell him of his demands due to his position as editor of the leading Azeri opposition newspaper. However, Arifoglu, who taped the ensuing conversation, strongly advised him to end the hijack. Arifoglu then immediately informed the relevant authorities and expressed his willingness to surrender the tape of the conversation if necessary. Furthermore, the organisation understands that the hijacker has since claimed sole responsibility for the incident.
The charge of illegal possession of a firearm was made by the authorities after a search of Arifoglu’s apartment on 22 August. Arifoglu’s lawyer was not allowed to be present at the search and only after Arifoglu insisted were two neighbours brought in to witness the search. Neither Arifoglu nor the two neighbours were present in the room in which police claim to have found a Makarov pistol.
The new charge of appealing for a coup d’etat has been brought on the basis of articles published in seventy-six issues of “Yeni Musavat”. This charge is clearly unsubstantiated and, according to ARTICLE 19’s sources, groundless.
From the available information there is no apparent evidence linking Arifoglu with the original charges of hijacking, possession of an illegal firearm and terrorism. ARTICLE 19 believes that the real reasons for his arrest are connected with his newspaper’s support for the opposition Musavat party for which he is standing as a candidate in the forthcoming elections.
Furthermore, his arrest appears to be part of a pattern of intimidation of opposition journalists and media which include:
– the forcible closing of the independent television station SARA-TV;
– the closure of the independent weekly “Monitor”, ostensibly for tax-evasion but again where the real reason appears to have been the journal’s criticism of the authorities;
– the threat of closure of the paper “Uc Nogde” following three convictions for criminal defamation. In this last case, even though the paper was careful to avoid such charges by merely reporting other people’s criticism of a particular official and even giving the official in question the right to put his side of the case, the paper was repeatedly prosecuted and found guilty.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– noting that such actions appear to be specifically undertaken to silence criticism of the government by the media in the run-up to the forthcoming elections in Azerbaijan, scheduled for November this year
– further noting that, as such, these actions not only contravene the Constitution of Azerbaijan, which provides for freedom of speech and the press, but also Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Azerbaijan is a party
– also noting that they are also diametrically opposed to European standards and norms on freedom of expression and the media, to which Azerbaijan, as a recently accepted member of the Council of Europe, will be expected to adhere
– urging him to immediately release Arifoglu and to drop the charges against him; and to end the closures of media outlets due to their perceived opposition to, or their criticism of, the authorities
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:HE Heydar Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Baku, Azerbaijan
Fax: +994 12 92 06 25Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
