Rights activists share CPJ's findings about persecution of journalists in Azerbaijan

Human rights activists of Azerbaijan share the concerns of the international "Committee to Protect Journalists" (CPJ) based in New York about the fate of the media people arrested in the country. They agree with the assessment of the CPJ and also urge the Azerbaijani authorities to release the arrested journalists and human rights defenders.

In the report of the CPJ issued on December 11 and dedicated to the state of things in the world with arrested journalists, Azerbaijan is included in the top ten "worst jailers of the press".

According to Khalid Agaliev, the programme manager of the Institute of Media Rights (IMR), at least nine journalists are kept in Azerbaijani prisons, namely: Avaz Zeinalov, the editor-in-chief of the "Khural" newspaper; Aidyn Djanyev, a regional correspondent of the "Khural"; Anar Bairamly, a citizen of Azerbaijan and a correspondent for Azerbaijan of the Iranian TV channel "Sakhar"; Vugar Gonagov and Zaur Guliev, the reporters of the Guba regional TV channel "Khayal TV"; Nijat Aliev, editor-in-chief of the online edition Azadxeber.org, which is of predominantly religious content; Araz Guliev, the editor-in-chief of the religious online edition xeber44.com; Faramaz Allakhverdiev, a journalist; and Hilal Mamedov, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of Talyshes).

Emin Guseinov, Director of another famous Azerbaijani human rights entity – the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), said that the persecution of journalists "damaging the country's image abroad."

According to his story, apart from the nine journalists, the civil society of Azerbaijan insists on release from prison of three rights defenders Ilham Amiraslanov, Vidadi Iskenderov and Talekh Khasmamedov. "We believe that they had also suffered for the freedom of self-expression," said Guseinov.

However, according to Ali Gasanov, the head of the public-political department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, the criticism of international organizations of the situation in Azerbaijan with the freedom of press is biased.