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THE NEW YORK TIMES: JAILED AZERBAIJANI JOURNALIST TO RECEIVE BARBARA GOLDSMITH FREEDOM TO WRITE AWARD
19:33 16/04/2015 >> LAW
A jailed Azerbaijani journalist, Khadija Ismayilova, will receive a
prestigious press freedom award from the PEN American Center, as the
nonprofit literary organization joins a rising wave of international
criticism directed at the government of Azerbaijan's President Ilham
Aliyev over human rights abuses and the suppression of free speech, an
article published in the newspaper The New York Times reads.
The author writes that Ms. Ismayilova, an investigative journalist who
repeatedly drew the ire of Mr. Aliyev by reporting on corruption
allegations against his clan, has been imprisoned since early
December, 2014. Initially, she faced allegations that she nearly drove
a colleague to commit suicide. But since then she has been convicted
of criminal libel in a closed trial and also charged with
embezzlement, tax evasion and other crimes. Among the subjects she
reported on were business dealings by the Aliyev clan involving
construction projects tied to the Eurovision Song Contest, which was
held in the capital, Baku, in 2012. She also drew attention to human
rights abuses in Azerbaijan.
"Khadija Ismayilova is not only a fearless journalist, but also one of
the most fierce advocates on behalf of the dozens of writers and
dissidents jailed in Azerbaijan for exercising their right to free
speech," Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner" - which
Ismayilova had translated into Azerbaijani - and a member of the PEN
American Center, said in a statement. Even from prison, Ms. Ismayilova
has continued to write, sending letters describing solitary
confinement and other harsh treatment, while repeating her criticism
of the Aliyev government. Suzanne Nossel, the executive director of
the PEN American Center, told The New York Times correspondent in a
telephone interview that Ismayilova literally will not be silenced.
According to the article, at the PEN American Center's gala in New
York City next month, Ms. Ismayilova will receive the Barbara
Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, which is given annually to writers
who are imprisoned or otherwise persecuted for their work. Of 39
honorees, who were in jail at the time they received the award, 34
were later freed, according to PEN. Past recipients have included the
Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, the Chinese human rights activist
Liu Xiaobo, who was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as
poets imprisoned in Kosovo and China.
As the article reads, the mounting criticism over the arrests in
recent months of journalists, civil society activists and political
opposition figures, as well as a government raid that shut down the
Baku office of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty comes as Azerbaijan is
planning to hold the first European Games organized by the
International Olympic Committee. In a separate effort organized by the
PEN American Center, a group of prominent writers and editors,
including many well-known American sportswriters, has written to the
International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, urging him to
condemn the rights abuses in Azerbaijan and to demand Ms. Ismayilova's
release.
"Azerbaijan does not abide by the central human rights principles --
among them freedom of the press -- that live in the spirit of the
Olympic Charter. The environment in Azerbaijan has become increasingly
repressive," wrote the authors including the editor of The New Yorker,
David Remnick; the veteran sports columnists Dave Anderson and Robert
Lipsyte; the filmmaker and writer Ken Burns; the writers David
Maraniss and Michael Lewis; and the NBC Olympics anchor Bob Costas. An
international group of policy analysts, former government officials,
civil society advocates and academics issued a letter urging the US
Secretary of State John Kerry to take action against Azerbaijan.
Related:
Human rights groups appeal to U.S. Secretary of State to boycott
European games in Baku
American students launch line of bracelets with arrested journalists'
names, including one from Azerbaijan
Detained Azerbaijani journalist writes about women's problems in prison
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/world/europe/azerbaijan-khadija-ismayilova-to-get-pen-press-freedom-award.html
http://www.panorama.am/en/law/2015/04/16/ismayilova/
From: A. Papazian
19:33 16/04/2015 >> LAW
A jailed Azerbaijani journalist, Khadija Ismayilova, will receive a
prestigious press freedom award from the PEN American Center, as the
nonprofit literary organization joins a rising wave of international
criticism directed at the government of Azerbaijan's President Ilham
Aliyev over human rights abuses and the suppression of free speech, an
article published in the newspaper The New York Times reads.
The author writes that Ms. Ismayilova, an investigative journalist who
repeatedly drew the ire of Mr. Aliyev by reporting on corruption
allegations against his clan, has been imprisoned since early
December, 2014. Initially, she faced allegations that she nearly drove
a colleague to commit suicide. But since then she has been convicted
of criminal libel in a closed trial and also charged with
embezzlement, tax evasion and other crimes. Among the subjects she
reported on were business dealings by the Aliyev clan involving
construction projects tied to the Eurovision Song Contest, which was
held in the capital, Baku, in 2012. She also drew attention to human
rights abuses in Azerbaijan.
"Khadija Ismayilova is not only a fearless journalist, but also one of
the most fierce advocates on behalf of the dozens of writers and
dissidents jailed in Azerbaijan for exercising their right to free
speech," Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner" - which
Ismayilova had translated into Azerbaijani - and a member of the PEN
American Center, said in a statement. Even from prison, Ms. Ismayilova
has continued to write, sending letters describing solitary
confinement and other harsh treatment, while repeating her criticism
of the Aliyev government. Suzanne Nossel, the executive director of
the PEN American Center, told The New York Times correspondent in a
telephone interview that Ismayilova literally will not be silenced.
According to the article, at the PEN American Center's gala in New
York City next month, Ms. Ismayilova will receive the Barbara
Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, which is given annually to writers
who are imprisoned or otherwise persecuted for their work. Of 39
honorees, who were in jail at the time they received the award, 34
were later freed, according to PEN. Past recipients have included the
Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, the Chinese human rights activist
Liu Xiaobo, who was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as
poets imprisoned in Kosovo and China.
As the article reads, the mounting criticism over the arrests in
recent months of journalists, civil society activists and political
opposition figures, as well as a government raid that shut down the
Baku office of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty comes as Azerbaijan is
planning to hold the first European Games organized by the
International Olympic Committee. In a separate effort organized by the
PEN American Center, a group of prominent writers and editors,
including many well-known American sportswriters, has written to the
International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, urging him to
condemn the rights abuses in Azerbaijan and to demand Ms. Ismayilova's
release.
"Azerbaijan does not abide by the central human rights principles --
among them freedom of the press -- that live in the spirit of the
Olympic Charter. The environment in Azerbaijan has become increasingly
repressive," wrote the authors including the editor of The New Yorker,
David Remnick; the veteran sports columnists Dave Anderson and Robert
Lipsyte; the filmmaker and writer Ken Burns; the writers David
Maraniss and Michael Lewis; and the NBC Olympics anchor Bob Costas. An
international group of policy analysts, former government officials,
civil society advocates and academics issued a letter urging the US
Secretary of State John Kerry to take action against Azerbaijan.
Related:
Human rights groups appeal to U.S. Secretary of State to boycott
European games in Baku
American students launch line of bracelets with arrested journalists'
names, including one from Azerbaijan
Detained Azerbaijani journalist writes about women's problems in prison
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/world/europe/azerbaijan-khadija-ismayilova-to-get-pen-press-freedom-award.html
http://www.panorama.am/en/law/2015/04/16/ismayilova/
From: A. Papazian