EurasiaNet Civil Society - Journalist’s Death Raises Azerbaijan’s Political Temperature

CIVIL SOCIETY

JOURNALIST’S DEATH RAISES AZERBAIJAN’S POLITICAL TEMPERATURE
Shahin Abbasov 3/04/05

The shooting death of a prominent opposition journalist has raised Azerbaijan’s political temperature. Opposition members, human rights activists and journalists view the killing as a politically motivated crime. Authorities, including President Ilham Aliyev, are vigorously denying involvement, blaming the murder instead on a mysterious force that seeks to "discredit Azerbaijan in a parliamentary election year."

The victim, 38-year-old Elmar Huseynov, the editor-in-chief of the opposition Monitor magazine, was buried March 4. An unknown assailant shot and killed Huseynov on March 2 in the hallway outside his apartment on the outskirts of Baku.

One of Azerbaijan’s best known dissident journalists, Huseynov had frequently tangled with authorities. Lawsuits brought by officials and Aliyev relatives resulted in large fines against Monitor in recent years. In 2002, Huseynov received a six-month prison term for allegedly slandering the mayor of Baku, but was pardoned and released within two months.

With the crime bearing the signs of a contract killing, opposition leaders immediately focused their suspicions on the Aliyev administration, labeling Huseynov’s death an act of "state terror" designed to stifle criticism of the government.

"We could expect this murder. This action is directed at intimidation of the people," Ali Kerimli, leader of the Popular Front Party, said at a March 3 conference in Baku on media rights. "It is not just the assassination of a journalist. It is an encroachment on the will of the people toward democracy."

One international human rights organization largely echoed that evaluation."This looks like an organized murder that aimed to silence criticism by one magazine and scare off anyone else who was thinking of following in Huseynov’s footsteps," Rachel Denber, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division, said in a March 4 statement.

International reaction likewise tended to assess the killing as a blow against civil society development in Azerbaijan. The European Union’s mission said Huseynov’s death was "an attack on free media, democracy, pluralism and the people of Azerbaijan." A US embassy statement described Huseynov as "a dedicated champion of media freedom" and "a man who stood up for his beliefs and principles, even in the face of great adversity."

Aliyev and other officials responded immediately, seeking to dispel any impression that the government was somehow connected to the crime. Administration officials are clearly concerned about the murder’s potential to aggravate Azerbaijan’s domestic political situation. A March 3 government statement urged that "regardless of its motives, Huseynov’s assassination cannot be used for political purposes."

In a March 3 interview with local television stations, Aliyev reinforced that stance, terming Huseynov’s murder "barbarism" and telling viewers that the attack was not in keeping with the country’s democratic and economic development. "Those who have committed the crime attempted to damage Azerbaijan’s international image, to discredit it before the [November 2005] parliamentary elections and present the country as an unstable and non-democratic state, where freedom of speech is violated and acts of terrorism are committed," Aliyev told a meeting of the Security Council that same day, the presidential press office reported.

Meanwhile, a statement issued by the ruling New Azerbaijan Party appeared to blame the killing on an unnamed "third force" seeking to destabilize the country. It characterized Huseynov’s murder as a "provocation intended to whip up tension ... and deal a blow to Azerbaijan’s international image."

Aliyev pressed law-enforcement officials to capture and try the killer, the Lider television channel reported. To help assuage potential public doubts, Azerbaijani officials have also welcomed the arrival of a US Federal Bureau of Investigation expert to assist Azerbaijani police in the murder probe.

Beyond the investigation, Aliyev urged government officials to refrain from taking legal action against media outlets, potentially signalling that the government intends to ease pressure on opposition media outlets. Human rights advocates have said such lawsuits have been used in the past to impede freedom of expression and prevent opposition parties from conveying their political messages to the public. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The president’s appeal for restraint -- provided that government officials act according to Aliyev’s stated desire -- could have a significant impact on Azerbaijan’s political life in 2005. The country is gearing up for parliamentary elections in November. It will be the first nationwide ballot since the controversial 2003 presidential vote, when widespread evidence of vote-rigging in favor of Aliyev prompted opposition protests that were forcefully suppressed. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Azerbaijani opposition groups have not fully recovered from the government crackdown. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Still, political observers believe the November parliamentary vote could provide an important test for opposition parties, helping to gauge the popular appetite for political reforms in this oil-rich South Caucasus state. A freer media climate in Azerbaijan could benefit the opposition, making it easier for presidential critics to present alternative points of view to official policies.

Dismissing official rhetoric, many Azerbaijani journalists remain skeptical that the government will vigorously pursue the Huseynov murder case. In an interview with the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Baku Press Club Deputy Director Chingiz Sultansoy said that Huseynov had received several threats recently and feared for his safety. Expressing little confidence in official investigators, a group of journalists have announced plans to carry out their own murder investigation.

Clues to the culprit’s identity appear sketchy, even though a pistol with a silencer, believed to be the murder weapon, was found near the crime scene. Neither Huseynov’s family members, nor his neighbours reported hearing the shots, and no witness sightings have been made. The electricity and telephone service to Huseynov’s apartment were cut off at approximately the same time as the shots were fired, estimated at 8:30pm on March 2. Calls from the journalist’s cell phone were also reportedly blocked, thereby allegedly preventing his family from immediately summoning an ambulance.

Huseynov’s murder is the latest in a string of violent attacks on Azerbaijani journalists over the past year by unknown assailants. Eynulla Fatullayev, the deputy editor of Monitor, was badly beaten last year, and the editor of another newspaper, Baki Habar, was kidnapped several months ago. In late February, Lider TV aired footage that showed the editor of the opposition newspaper Azadliq, Ganimat Zahidov, and a colleague nude in the accompaniment of two prostitutes. Zahidov claims that the photos were taken under threat of violence.

New opposition media outlets have also experienced numerous operational delays and difficulties. For example, the registration process for the television and radio station Yeni TV, envisioned as an alternative to Azerbaijan’s planned public television system, has ground to a halt with no immediate resolution in sight. Government supporters, citing examples from Georgia and Ukraine, have stated that the station could be used to foster a popular uprising. In response to the delay, Yeni TV’s founders are reportedly considering establishing operations outside of Azerbaijan as a satellite news channel.

In a recent report, the US State Department qualified human rights conditions in Azerbaijan as "poor," noting that the Azerbaijani government in 2004 "continued to restrict freedom of speech and of the press" and that defamation lawsuits by government officials and stiff court penalties pose "significant problems" for independent media.

Editor’s Note: Shahin Abbasov is a freelance journalist in Azerbaijan.

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