In Azerbaijan, oppositional editor accused of tax evasion

The Azerbaijani Department of the Ministry of Taxes has demanded from Shirin Djafari, the founder and editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Gyundem Khabar" (News of Day), to pay his tax debts in the amount of 107,000 manats (about 130,000 US dollars).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that initially Shirin Djafari was charged with tax evasion amounting to 68,244 manats (82,500 US dollars). In late August, the editor was criminally prosecuted - he was accused of tax evasion and abuse of office. The investigation was conducted by the Department for Fighting Corruption under the General Public Prosecutor based on the appeal of the Press Council.

Shirin Djafari said on September 27 at a press conference held at the office of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) that the claimed amount is unreasonably high.

He believes that he was a victim of "political order" and added that investigators were presented with all the necessary documents about the actual circulation of his paper and incomes.

According to his story, the newspaper is published in 1500 copies 1-3 times a week. The total revenue of the edition makes about 1000 manats (1200 US dollars) per month, and during the three years since the start of publication the total receipts amounted to about 20,000 manats (about 24,000 US dollars).

Mr Djafari has acknowledged that he had violated the tax legislation, as he paid by mistake his tax on the net profits instead of on total income. However, even in this case, his unpaid debt should not exceed 1200 manats (about 1450 US dollars).

According to his data, for unknown reasons, the tax office had based its calculations on the circulation of the leading oppositional newspaper "Eni Musavat", which has circulation of more than 10,000 copies a day.

Shirin Djafari filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Taxes of Azerbaijan to the Economic-Administrative Court No. 1. He is also unsuccessfully trying to get a copy of the letter, sent by the Press Council to the General Prosecutor's Office. His criminal case was initiated based on this letter.

"I'm trying to understand exactly what I'm charged of. The members of the Board of the Press Council avoid answering by all means," he said.

The Press Council continues refraining from comments, citing the fact that the investigation is still on.

The General Prosecutor's Office has also referred to the ongoing investigation. The Ministry of Taxes has also refused to give any operative comment on the newspaper "Gyundem Khabar".

Earlier, Djafari had noted that he did not know what particular publications of his paper could cause claims of law enforcement bodies. However, he supposed that his prosecution could be within the interests of Ali Gasanov, the head of the socio-political division of the presidential administration of Azerbaijan.

Thus, the article "Empire in Press" accused Gasanov of alleged monopoly in the press and the dependence of the Azerbaijani media on this official. The bureaucrats from the presidential administration called these allegations totally groundless.

The newspaper "Gyundem Khabar" is published in Azerbaijan for about four years. Since May 2011, it is published five times a week. By its ideology, the paper is close to the centre-right-wing opposition.