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AZERI JOURNALIST DEFIES BLACKMAILERS
By Shahla Sultanova
http://www.a1plus.am/en/social/2012/03/21/journalist
04:15 pm | Today | Social
Khadija Ismayilova, an Azerbaijani journalist famous for her
investigations into the ruling Aliyev family, has said she will
carry on regardless of blackmail, threats and a spy video posted on
the internet.
"I have not done anything bad. I am investigating the true situation
in this country. It is not I, but those who interfere in my private
life who should be embarrassed," she told IWPR.
O On March 7, Ismayilova received a letter with the words "behave,
whore, or you will be shamed", along with an envelope of photos taken
inside her house of her engaged in sexual activity. The same letter
was also sent to two opposition-leaning newspapers, which did not
publish the pictures.
On March 14, after Ismayilova stated said in public that she would
ignore the threats, video footage - again clearly filmed with a spy
camera - inside her home, was posted on a website ostensibly linked
to Musavat, an opposition party which has a newspaper of the same name.
Both denied any connection to the website, but many internet users
were clearly misled into believing they were responsible for carrying
the video, judging by the angry comments they posted.
Ismayilova believes the underhand campaign against her is a consequence
of her investigations into high-level corruption in Azerbaijan. Her
recent report into the business activities of President Ilham Aliyev's
daughters, published by RFE/RL, was one of the very rare Azeri-language
articles to discuss the first family.
After receiving the threatening letter, Ismayilova requested the
interior ministry and prosecution service to investigate the matter.
Interior ministry spokesman Ehsan Zahidov confirmed that this was
happening. That would make this the first case where the government
has looked into the blackmailing of journalists.
Eleven international media and human rights organisations including
Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without
Borders, Index on Censorship and Human Rights Watch have signed
a statement condemning the smear campaign and insisting on a full
investigation.
"Khadija Ismayilova is being subjected to a vicious campaign with
the sole purpose of undermining her as a journalist and silencing her
critical opinions," Article 19's executive director Agnès Callamard
said. "By using sexual images of Khadija Ismayilova, those wanting
to blackmail her appear to specifically target her gender, as such
tactics in a society like Azerbaijan are likely to have particularly
damaging repercussions."
"The Azerbaijani government must take immediate steps to investigate
this personal attack and to ensure the climate in which these types
of threats can occur ceases to exist," Callamard added.
Officials were quick to deny any connection to the blackmail attempt.
"The government's duty is protect its citizens, not to blackmail them,"
Elnur Aslanov, a government spokesman, told IWPR.
Ismayilova said she did not believe these protestations of innocence.
The government was just trying to calm a storm of international
criticism that it had failed to anticipate.
"Their response is them trying to protect themselves. They made
a mistake - they didn't count on the public reaction. They didn't
expect so many organisations to react to their actions. Now they are
stepping back," she said.
Ismayilova said she was sure officials were behind the threats against
her. She noted a hostile article about her that was published in
the government's Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper in the days between her
receiving the letter and the video being posted.
"No ordinary citizen of Azerbaijan is powerful enough to make those
newspapers write a critical article about me," she said.
The Yeni Azerbaijan article made several unsubstantiated claims that
Ismayilova led a life inappropriate for an Azerbaijani woman, it
accused her late father of having made money by blackmailing people,
and it claimed she had left a job at the broadcaster Voice of America
after a scandal there. It also said that the After Work programme
which she hosts on RFE/RL was biased.
Hikmet Babaoghlu, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, denied any
connection to the blackmail, saying the newspaper had been planning
to run the article for a long time.
"We live in a democratic society, where we can write an article and
criticise anyone. So we did so," he said.
Babaoghlu declined to answer a question about why it was felt necessary
to make claims about the journalist's private life, saying all the
relevant information was in the story.
On March 15, the pro-government paper Iki Sahil newspaper also ran an
article on Ismayilova - this one claiming her grandmother was Armenian,
and that she was immoral and therefore unable to defend the rights
of Azeris. Ismayil Hajiyev, the paper's deputy editor-in-chief said
the paper had decided to write about the journalist because she had
become famous.
And Rashid Hajili, director of the Institute of Media Rights, shared
Ismayilova's belief that the attack on her originated high up in
the government.
"The fact that articles appeared in two government newspapers makes
me believe this originated in the government. The one in Iki Sahil
explicitly promoted the video," he said. "I'm not optimistic that it
will be investigated properly."
Hajili said it was only the robust response from RFE/RL and
international organisations that forced the authorities to launch an
investigation at all.
Bahar Muradova, deputy secretary of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party
and one of the few women in parliament, said it was unreasonable to
accuse the government of for threatening her.
"The Azerbaijani government is not so miserable as to fight with a
journalist, especially a female journalist, in such an ugly manner,"
she said. "It is unacceptable to interfere in someone's private life
like that. Those behind it should be found as soon as possible."
Ali Hasanov, who heads the political affairs department in President
Aliyev's office, told journalists the case would be investigated
thoroughly.
"Those behind the threat and blackmailing must be held to account,"
he said.
But rights activists in Azerbaijan doubt that the full scale of the
crime - for example the installation of hidden cameras in Ismayilova's
apartment - will be fully investigated. The Baku city prosecutor is
only looking into threats made against her, not blackmail or invasion
of privacy.
Arzu Abdullayeva, head of the national committee of the Helsinki
Citizen's Assembly, has written to President Aliyev asking for a
full investigation.
"It is disgusting. Khadija's courageous work should be valued,
not subjected to blackmail. People are very angry about it. Those
who signed our petitions wanted us to go further in our criticism,"
she said. "A journalist gets blackmailed for her work. I don't want
Azerbaijan to be associated with things like that."
Shahla Sultanova is a freelance journalist in Azerbaijan.
The article is published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
(www.iwpr.net)
By Shahla Sultanova
http://www.a1plus.am/en/social/2012/03/21/journalist
04:15 pm | Today | Social
Khadija Ismayilova, an Azerbaijani journalist famous for her
investigations into the ruling Aliyev family, has said she will
carry on regardless of blackmail, threats and a spy video posted on
the internet.
"I have not done anything bad. I am investigating the true situation
in this country. It is not I, but those who interfere in my private
life who should be embarrassed," she told IWPR.
O On March 7, Ismayilova received a letter with the words "behave,
whore, or you will be shamed", along with an envelope of photos taken
inside her house of her engaged in sexual activity. The same letter
was also sent to two opposition-leaning newspapers, which did not
publish the pictures.
On March 14, after Ismayilova stated said in public that she would
ignore the threats, video footage - again clearly filmed with a spy
camera - inside her home, was posted on a website ostensibly linked
to Musavat, an opposition party which has a newspaper of the same name.
Both denied any connection to the website, but many internet users
were clearly misled into believing they were responsible for carrying
the video, judging by the angry comments they posted.
Ismayilova believes the underhand campaign against her is a consequence
of her investigations into high-level corruption in Azerbaijan. Her
recent report into the business activities of President Ilham Aliyev's
daughters, published by RFE/RL, was one of the very rare Azeri-language
articles to discuss the first family.
After receiving the threatening letter, Ismayilova requested the
interior ministry and prosecution service to investigate the matter.
Interior ministry spokesman Ehsan Zahidov confirmed that this was
happening. That would make this the first case where the government
has looked into the blackmailing of journalists.
Eleven international media and human rights organisations including
Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without
Borders, Index on Censorship and Human Rights Watch have signed
a statement condemning the smear campaign and insisting on a full
investigation.
"Khadija Ismayilova is being subjected to a vicious campaign with
the sole purpose of undermining her as a journalist and silencing her
critical opinions," Article 19's executive director Agnès Callamard
said. "By using sexual images of Khadija Ismayilova, those wanting
to blackmail her appear to specifically target her gender, as such
tactics in a society like Azerbaijan are likely to have particularly
damaging repercussions."
"The Azerbaijani government must take immediate steps to investigate
this personal attack and to ensure the climate in which these types
of threats can occur ceases to exist," Callamard added.
Officials were quick to deny any connection to the blackmail attempt.
"The government's duty is protect its citizens, not to blackmail them,"
Elnur Aslanov, a government spokesman, told IWPR.
Ismayilova said she did not believe these protestations of innocence.
The government was just trying to calm a storm of international
criticism that it had failed to anticipate.
"Their response is them trying to protect themselves. They made
a mistake - they didn't count on the public reaction. They didn't
expect so many organisations to react to their actions. Now they are
stepping back," she said.
Ismayilova said she was sure officials were behind the threats against
her. She noted a hostile article about her that was published in
the government's Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper in the days between her
receiving the letter and the video being posted.
"No ordinary citizen of Azerbaijan is powerful enough to make those
newspapers write a critical article about me," she said.
The Yeni Azerbaijan article made several unsubstantiated claims that
Ismayilova led a life inappropriate for an Azerbaijani woman, it
accused her late father of having made money by blackmailing people,
and it claimed she had left a job at the broadcaster Voice of America
after a scandal there. It also said that the After Work programme
which she hosts on RFE/RL was biased.
Hikmet Babaoghlu, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, denied any
connection to the blackmail, saying the newspaper had been planning
to run the article for a long time.
"We live in a democratic society, where we can write an article and
criticise anyone. So we did so," he said.
Babaoghlu declined to answer a question about why it was felt necessary
to make claims about the journalist's private life, saying all the
relevant information was in the story.
On March 15, the pro-government paper Iki Sahil newspaper also ran an
article on Ismayilova - this one claiming her grandmother was Armenian,
and that she was immoral and therefore unable to defend the rights
of Azeris. Ismayil Hajiyev, the paper's deputy editor-in-chief said
the paper had decided to write about the journalist because she had
become famous.
And Rashid Hajili, director of the Institute of Media Rights, shared
Ismayilova's belief that the attack on her originated high up in
the government.
"The fact that articles appeared in two government newspapers makes
me believe this originated in the government. The one in Iki Sahil
explicitly promoted the video," he said. "I'm not optimistic that it
will be investigated properly."
Hajili said it was only the robust response from RFE/RL and
international organisations that forced the authorities to launch an
investigation at all.
Bahar Muradova, deputy secretary of the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party
and one of the few women in parliament, said it was unreasonable to
accuse the government of for threatening her.
"The Azerbaijani government is not so miserable as to fight with a
journalist, especially a female journalist, in such an ugly manner,"
she said. "It is unacceptable to interfere in someone's private life
like that. Those behind it should be found as soon as possible."
Ali Hasanov, who heads the political affairs department in President
Aliyev's office, told journalists the case would be investigated
thoroughly.
"Those behind the threat and blackmailing must be held to account,"
he said.
But rights activists in Azerbaijan doubt that the full scale of the
crime - for example the installation of hidden cameras in Ismayilova's
apartment - will be fully investigated. The Baku city prosecutor is
only looking into threats made against her, not blackmail or invasion
of privacy.
Arzu Abdullayeva, head of the national committee of the Helsinki
Citizen's Assembly, has written to President Aliyev asking for a
full investigation.
"It is disgusting. Khadija's courageous work should be valued,
not subjected to blackmail. People are very angry about it. Those
who signed our petitions wanted us to go further in our criticism,"
she said. "A journalist gets blackmailed for her work. I don't want
Azerbaijan to be associated with things like that."
Shahla Sultanova is a freelance journalist in Azerbaijan.
The article is published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting
(www.iwpr.net)