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AZERBAIJANI JOURNALIST SAID THAT THE 17 JOURNALISTS AND BLOGGERS DETAINED IN THEIR COUNTRY ARE UNKNOWN TO PUBLIC
November 12 2014
He even announced that many of them are Islamists who want to make
Azerbaijan a country like Iran. "When arrested, they all begin to
make noise that journalists are arrested, when you ask them whether
you know them, no one knows the kind of journalist, but it turns out
that it was a "known person". Can you name these 16-17 people and
say who they are and what they are?" so opposed Chairman of Central
Asia and South Caucasus Network of Freedom of Expression Azer Hasrat
to Director of Azerbaijan "Turan" agency, Mehman Aliyev, yesterday,
at the 11th South Caucasus Media conference held in Tbilisi organized
by the OSCE Representative for Freedom of Media issues. Note that
earlier Director of "Turan" was talking about repression against
journalists in his country, and informed that 11 journalists and 6
bloggers are currently in jail in Azerbaijan. In response to Azer
Hasrat, Director of "Turan" spoke on general situation of journalists
in Azerbaijan that they are apprehended inculpating "hooliganism" or
"drug trade" as a pretense, allegedly this imprisonment has nothing to
do with journalism. "Why is it so that hooligans are never apprehended,
but when a journalist or an NGO member has done something by chance,
he is immediately apprehended for hooliganism? It clearly shows that
there is a state policy." To eliminate the doubts, he suggested for
the media organizations to be able to attend the decision-making
examinations on imprisonment of journalists. In response to these
words, Azer Hasrat made the following assertion, "Do you know that
one of those imprisoned journalist, recently, made a statement, which
said, please, only do not consider me a political prisoner, I am
here for my deeds." Later on, he also made the following statement,
"I asked such a special provocative question to Mr. Aliyev, because
as for these journalists in inverted commas, when they are arrested,
a noise is raised, but it turns out that no one knows them, and later,
we find out that most of them are working for the Islamic regime,
they are Islamists and are willing to have an Islamic revolution in
Azerbaijan so that our country becomes a country like Iran. We cannot
call these people bloggers, journalists and public figures. Now,
everyone can use the Internet. So what? Is he who has access to the
Internet a journalist and a blogger?" All of this, as well as the
words said earlier by one of Azerbaijan President's Administration
officials that the convicted are mainly hooligans and drug traffickers,
eventually forced the OSCE Media Representative Dunja MijatoviÄ~G again
to come up with a speech criticizing the occurrences against freedom
of expression in Azerbaijan. Note that she has opened the conference
with a similar speech. And the second time, she just said that she
is well aware of how the deeds are "made" in Azerbaijan and people
are detained as drug dealers and hooligans, and Azerbaijan needs to
independently solve its domestic problems rather than casting those
raising them to prisons, and wrapped up with a rhetorical question,
"Where is Arzu? Where is Khadija? Where is Mehman (Azeri famous
journalists who for various obstacles could not attend this conference
- M. B.). Are they criminals? I do not think so."
M. BARSEGHYAN
Tbilisi
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2014/11/12/167726/
November 12 2014
He even announced that many of them are Islamists who want to make
Azerbaijan a country like Iran. "When arrested, they all begin to
make noise that journalists are arrested, when you ask them whether
you know them, no one knows the kind of journalist, but it turns out
that it was a "known person". Can you name these 16-17 people and
say who they are and what they are?" so opposed Chairman of Central
Asia and South Caucasus Network of Freedom of Expression Azer Hasrat
to Director of Azerbaijan "Turan" agency, Mehman Aliyev, yesterday,
at the 11th South Caucasus Media conference held in Tbilisi organized
by the OSCE Representative for Freedom of Media issues. Note that
earlier Director of "Turan" was talking about repression against
journalists in his country, and informed that 11 journalists and 6
bloggers are currently in jail in Azerbaijan. In response to Azer
Hasrat, Director of "Turan" spoke on general situation of journalists
in Azerbaijan that they are apprehended inculpating "hooliganism" or
"drug trade" as a pretense, allegedly this imprisonment has nothing to
do with journalism. "Why is it so that hooligans are never apprehended,
but when a journalist or an NGO member has done something by chance,
he is immediately apprehended for hooliganism? It clearly shows that
there is a state policy." To eliminate the doubts, he suggested for
the media organizations to be able to attend the decision-making
examinations on imprisonment of journalists. In response to these
words, Azer Hasrat made the following assertion, "Do you know that
one of those imprisoned journalist, recently, made a statement, which
said, please, only do not consider me a political prisoner, I am
here for my deeds." Later on, he also made the following statement,
"I asked such a special provocative question to Mr. Aliyev, because
as for these journalists in inverted commas, when they are arrested,
a noise is raised, but it turns out that no one knows them, and later,
we find out that most of them are working for the Islamic regime,
they are Islamists and are willing to have an Islamic revolution in
Azerbaijan so that our country becomes a country like Iran. We cannot
call these people bloggers, journalists and public figures. Now,
everyone can use the Internet. So what? Is he who has access to the
Internet a journalist and a blogger?" All of this, as well as the
words said earlier by one of Azerbaijan President's Administration
officials that the convicted are mainly hooligans and drug traffickers,
eventually forced the OSCE Media Representative Dunja MijatoviÄ~G again
to come up with a speech criticizing the occurrences against freedom
of expression in Azerbaijan. Note that she has opened the conference
with a similar speech. And the second time, she just said that she
is well aware of how the deeds are "made" in Azerbaijan and people
are detained as drug dealers and hooligans, and Azerbaijan needs to
independently solve its domestic problems rather than casting those
raising them to prisons, and wrapped up with a rhetorical question,
"Where is Arzu? Where is Khadija? Where is Mehman (Azeri famous
journalists who for various obstacles could not attend this conference
- M. B.). Are they criminals? I do not think so."
M. BARSEGHYAN
Tbilisi
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2014/11/12/167726/