Background Briefing

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Violence against and Harassment of Journalists during the Presidential Election, October 2003

While for some time the independent and opposition media have operated in an environment of restrictions and intimidation, the October 2003 presidential election worsened the climate for the media considerably. Although the government has taken some measures since the election to rectify abuses against journalists, they fall far short of what is needed to promote a free and independent media in the country. The deterioration of the media environment began with the pre-election period, which was marked by an increase in intimidation and harassment of journalists attempting to report on opposition campaign activities. In September 2003, journalists from more than twelve different media outlets reported being the victims of police and provocateur assaults and having their equipment either broken or seized.15

One such incident occurred in front of the Baku City Police Station on September 8. Fuad Mustafaev, a representative of the Popular Front Party, had been summoned to the police station after appearing on Az TV for a live political talk show with the leader of the government-aligned Modern Musavat (“Equality”) political party. In an apparent attempt to limit publicity, police reportedly attacked journalists who had gathered outside the police station and continued to punch and kick them, even after they showed their press cards.16 As a result ten journalists were injured. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media, Freimut Duve, made a joint statement calling on the authorities of Azerbaijan “to conduct a thorough investigation of this assault against media representatives as soon as possible.”17 A police spokesman denied that the police had done anything illegal, but apologized for any accidental assaults on journalists.18 As of mid-2004, police took no action in relation to the case.19

In previous publications Human Rights Watch documented the police beatings of journalists in the course of their reporting on pre-election opposition events. These included the beatings of Tabriz Vefali, a journalist with the opposition daily newspaper, Hurriet, on October 3, 2003, and of a group of journalists, including Anar Natikoglu from the opposition daily Yeni Musavat, who were reporting on an opposition rally outside of the Tabriz cinema in Baku on September 21, 2003.20 Again, authorities took no action to hold police officers responsible for the beatings.21 The damaging result of this lack of accountability can be seen in the incidents of police violence against journalists during the election, and at least one violent incident after it.

On October 15, election day itself, there were many incidents of harassment of journalists. Police detained and beat journalists at polling stations and officials refused to allow journalists access to polling stations.22

The following days, two demonstrations protesting the election fraud turned violent. During both, police did not distinguish between protesters and journalists reporting on the protest, and arrested them both. On the evening on October 15, journalists, along with opposition supporters and other observers, gathered in the street outside the Musavat party headquarters in the center of Baku to hear regular updates on the vote counting.23 Emotions among the opposition supporters ran high as the level of fraud committed during the elections became apparent. At one point a Sahil Karimli, a journalist working for Lider TV, was attacked and sustained “major head and body injuries.” The authorities accused Musavat members, in particular Mehdi Mehdiev of responsibility for the attack.24

Lider TV was overwhelmingly biased in favor of the government supported presidential candidate, Ilham Aliev, during the election campaign.25 In sharp contrast to the many uninvestigated attacks on journalists working for opposition or independent media, the authorities filed charges against Mehdi Mehdiev and another Musavat activist for Karimli’s beating.26

By midnight a large crowd had gathered. Large numbers of police with shields and batons, other security forces, and masked men in black from the Organized Crime Unit completely surrounded the Musavat headquarters and the gathered crowd.27 At around 1.00 a.m. police and security forces moved in on the crowd and beat them with rubber truncheons and their fists, injuring dozens in an unprovoked attack.28

Police also arrested Azer Karachenli, a journalist for the independent weekly Avropa newspaper. Karachenli told Human Rights Watch:

Police with no uniforms and others dressed in black came from the back and attacked people. In front there was a police cordon. A man in black grabbed me from behind and dragged me by the hands… I told him I was a journalist… I showed him my press card. He put me in a bus… I was trying to explain who I was, but they said ‘tell us in the station.’ Then my chief editor rang me on my mobile [and] I said I’d been arrested, but then the police took my telephone and turned it off.29

Police then took Karachenli to the Binagadi district police station; the next day a police investigator asked him to sign a written statement that he had participated in a riot, and resisted police. He refused to sign and wrote his own statement that he had been at the Musavat headquarters reporting on events as a journalist. He was held for six days in incommunicado detention, as police refused his requests for a lawyer and to contact his family and newspaper. His family and employers searched for him throughout this period, however, the authorities denied that he was in their custody.

On the sixth day, after being allowed to telephone his chief editor, he was released from custody. A procurator from the Serious Crimes Unit of the General Procurator’s office, told him that he had been sentenced to fifteen days of detention for a petty offence of hooliganism, however, according to Karachenli, he was never even taken to court.30

On October 16, many journalists went to Azadliq (“Freedom”) Square to report on the protest there.31 According to journalists present, they were easily recognizable as journalists, holding recording equipment and press cards. However, security forces, including police, army, and special forces dressed in black, cornered the journalists, threw canisters of tear gas at them and  beat them with rubber truncheons. One journalist, Emin Husseinov from the Turan Information Agency, present at the rally recounted: “We all held up our press cards. We had dictaphones and microphones… I received five strong blows to my head and about fifteen to my body… I fell unconscious.”32 Others from the Turan Information Agency found him, and took him away for medical treatment. They had great difficulty finding a hospital that would give him full medical treatment, several hospitals refusing once they realized that he was injured during the protests. As of mid-2004, Husseinov was still suffering from severe headaches, neck immobility, nausea, and breathing problems.33

In February 2004, Husseinov was called three times to courts in Baku, as a witness for the prosecution in group trials against opposition members accused of post-election violence. In the indictments, he was listed as a victim. In all cases he testified that the police, and not the opposition protesters, had beaten him.34 Notably, no police were held accountable for his beating.

Approximately fifty-four journalists were beaten on October 15 and 16,35 and twenty-three arrested in relation to the post-election events.36 Most of those arrested were sentenced for up to fifteen days’ imprisonment on petty charges. Many were released before they served their full sentences.37

At least one representative of the media remained in custody as of mid-2004 on charges related to the post-election violence, and another was held in custody until April 2004, when he was convicted on charges of violating public order.

On October 27, police detained Rauf Arifoglu, the editor-in-chief of the opposition daily newspaper Yeni Musavat and deputy head of the Musavat opposition party.38 He was immediately remanded into custody for three months, and then in January 2004, the Nasimi District Court in Baku extended his pretrial custody for another three months.39 For the first thirty-two days, he was held in solitary confinement.40 The authorities accused him, along with other opposition leaders similarly detained, of organizing and participating in the violence of October 15 and 16.41 Arifoglu believed that he was being held for his journalistic work.42

Although the motivation for detaining Arifoglu may well have been related to his role as a Musavat party leader, the government has made it clear that they saw his writings in Yeni Musavat as a contributing factor to the violence that took place after the elections. The government claims Arifoglu used inflammatory language in his articles published during the pre-election period in Yeni Musavat newspaper, calling on the population to react in the case of electoral fraud.43 The government claimed that the language he used amounted to “instructions” and “plans” to commit violence after the elections.44 The preliminary hearing of his case, along with six other opposition leaders in a group trial, began on May 7, and was continuing as of mid-2004. As with the other trials of people accused with the post-election violence, there remain well-grounded fears that the trial will not be held in accordance with international fair trial standards.45 Arifoglu has suffered serious health problems during his time in custody, including a stomach ulcer.

On December 31, 2003, police arrested Sadiq Ismailov, a journalist from the independent Baki Khaber (“Baku News”) newspaper, and accused him of being involved in the post-election violence. Police said that they had found a photograph of Ismailov, taken during the demonstrations, in which he was holding a stone. His lawyer, Mubaris Garaev, claimed that Ismailov’s prosecution was a result of articles he had written since the election that were critical of the government. After his arrest, he was held in the Sabail district police station, where he was threatened and put under psychological pressure, which continued when he was transferred to the Serious Crimes Unit of the General Prosecutor’s office. Although he requested Garaev to represent him, the police provided a state-appointed lawyer instead, thus depriving him of a lawyer of his choice. Ismailov confessed to the charges. However, once his own lawyer, Garaev, was able to defend him, a week after his arrest, Ismailov recanted his confession, telling Garaev that he had been threatened and pressured.46 On April 2, 2004, he was convicted in the Court of Serious Crimes and given a four-and-a-half-year suspended prison sentence.47

Government Response

In meetings with Human Rights Watch, officials denied that there was any pressure put on journalists during the election period.48 In relation to the violence on October 15 and 16, they explained that it was not possible to determine who was a journalist in the crowds, implying that the police did not specifically target journalists, but, in defending themselves, the police may have unintentionally used physical force against journalists.49 The authorities categorically denied that the police had used excessive violence on October 15 and 16, and stated that the police were attacked and were defending themselves, in accordance with their duties.50 Officials also stated that many people claimed to be journalists, and even held journalists cards, who in fact were not journalists and attended the protests as opposition members.51

Although government officials denied any pressure on or targeting of journalists, they recognized the need to regulate relations between law enforcement authorities and journalists, and therefore agreed to participate in a Permanent Commission for Investigation and Elimination of Conflicts between Mass Media and Authorities, set up on the joint initiative of the Press Council of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Interior.52 The Commission included representatives of the Press Council, Ministry of Justice, General Procurator’s Office, and Ministry of Interior, and had its first sitting on February 2, 2004.53

The Press Council and authorities have discussed ways of making journalists identifiable when they are covering public events, such as specific clothing, so that law enforcement officials can easily identify them.54


[15] “2003 Azerbaijan Press Freedom Review,” International Press Institute, [online] http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Europe/azerbaij.htm (retrieved August 24, 2004).

[16] “Internews Condemns Violence Against Journalists Near the Head Police Station,” September 9, 2003, [online] http://www.internews.az/eng/articles/20030909.shtml (retrieved August 2, 2004) and “2003 Azerbaijan Press Freedom Review,” International Press Institute, [online] at http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Europe/azerbaij.htm (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[17] “The Secretary General of the Council of Europe and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media express concern about the situation of the media in Azerbaijan,” September 10, 2004, [online]  http://www.internews.az/eng/articles/20030910.shtml (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[18] “Azerbaijan: Police Officers Assault Journalists,” 2003 News Alert, Committee for the Protection of Journalists, September 11, 2003, [online] http://www.cpj.org/news/2003/Azer11sept03na.html (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[19] Human Rights Watch e-mail correspondence with Azer Hasret, CASCFEN, May 29, 2004.

[20] Human Rights Watch, “Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003,” p. 14, [online] http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/azerbaijan/index.htm (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[21] Human Rights Watch e-mail correspondence with Azer Hasret, May 29, 2004.  Human Rights Watch interview with Fuad Hasanov, director of “Against Violence” human rights center, May 30, 2004.

[22] “Internews Is Concerned About Pressure On Media During The Elections,” October 18, 2003, [online] http://www.internews.az/eng/articles/20031018.shtml (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[23] Musavat’s candidate in the presidential elections was Isa Gambar, the leading opponent to Ilham Aliev.

[24] Letter from the Azerbaijani ambassador to the U.S., Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev, to Human Rights Watch, dated February 10, 2004.

[25] See below, Media Coverage of the Election Campaign.

[26] Human Rights Watch interview with Ramiz Rzayev, first deputy general procurator, Eldar Nuriyev, deputy general procurator, and Tahir Kazimov, head of the Department of Investigation of Grave Crimes, Baku, March 1, 2004.

[27] See “Azerbaijan: Presidential Elections 2003,” Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper, October 13, 2003, p. 21, [online]  http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/azerbaijan/index.htm (retrieved August 2, 2004). The Organized Crime Unit is a part of the Ministry of Interior. Human Rights Watch documented many instances of torture carried out by members of the Organized Crime Unit after the October 2003 presidential elections. See “Crushing Dissent” Human Rights Watch Report, January 2004.

[28] See “Crushing Dissent,” Human Rights Watch Report, January 2004, p. 21. The government strenuously objected to the Human Rights Watch description of these events as an “unprovoked attack.” In a letter to Human Rights Watch, the government stated that the opposition had been “making plans for employing violence as a tool of achieving their political goals,” that inflammatory articles published in opposition newspapers in the lead up to the elections documented this intent, and that members of Musavat acted in accordance with these instructions on October 15 and 16, 2003. Letter from the Azerbaijani ambassador to the U.S., Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev, to Human Rights Watch, dated February 10, 2004.

[29] Human Rights Watch interview with Azer Karachenli, Baku, February 25, 2004.

[30] Human Rights Watch interview with Azer Karachenli, Baku, February 25, 2004.

[31] See “Crushing Dissent,” Human Rights Watch Report, January 2004.

[32] Human Rights Watch interview with Emin Husseinov, Baku, February 26, 2004.

[33] Human Rights Watch interview with Emin Husseinov, Baku, February 25 and 26, 2004.

[34] Ibid.

[35] Human Rights Watch interview with Aflatuna Amashov, Baku, February 27, 2004, and “Azerbaijan Press freedom curtailed since Ilham Aliev’s election as president,” December 10, 2003, Reporters without Borders, [online] http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8769 (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[36] Human Rights Watch interview with Aflatuna Amashov, Baku, February 27, 2004.

[37] Human Rights Watch interviews with several members of the international community in Baku who did not want to be named, Baku, February 2004.

[38] Yeni Musavat is aligned to the Musavat opposition party and has the largest circulation of any print media in Azerbaijan.

[39] Human Rights Watch interview with Yadigar Mamedli, head of the Committee for the Defense of Rauf Arifoglu, Baku, 19 and 24 February.

[40]  Ibid. “Azerbaijan Press freedom curtailed since Ilham Aliev’s election as president,” December 10, 2003, Reporters without Borders, [online] http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8769 (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[41] He was charged with organization or participation in a mass disturbance (articles 220.1 of the Criminal Code) and resistance to a state representative or committing of violence threatening the life and health of a state representative (article 315.2 of the Criminal Code). The majority of the 128 people tried or awaiting trial in relation to the post-election violence were charged with these same articles of the Criminal Code.

[42] “Azerbaijan Press freedom curtailed since Ilham Aliev’s election as president,” December 10, 2003, Reporters without Borders, [online] http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8769 (retrieved August 2, 2004).

[43] Letter from the Azerbaijani ambassador to the U.S., Ambassador Hafiz Pashayev, to Human Rights Watch, dated February 10, 2004. The letter cites statements by several opposition members allegedly showing that “the opposition has been making plans for employing violence as a tool of achieving their political goals.” Among these are two citations that the government says Arifoglu wrote. Human Rights Watch was unable to view an original copy of the articles, and so cannot verify the translation or determine the context for the citations. The February 10 letter states that: “On September 30, 2003, Mr. Rauf Arifolgu . . .has written [in Yeni Musavat]: ‘Our people who live in villages and far regions. . . should go to the polling stations with food and specially-made truncheons at the end of the election day. Should there be anyone among the polling station staff who’ll try to falsify, try to steal one’s vote or future, that man should be beaten as a donkey! Just a dozen of such active and truncheons-[sic]equipped men in every village can assure the objectivity of election [sic] in that polling station.”   The letter continues: ”In ‘Yeni Musavat’ dated September 11, 2003, he writes about two of the candidtates for the Presidency, Ilham Aliyev and Hafiz Hajiyev ‘That dog of his will also get its head smashed. . . I would love to see the head of that dog smashed…right in the Gelebe square. If someone wishes to take this job on, let him not wait for an urging . . . It is, indeed, a national duty of each and every one of us.’”

[44] Ibid.

[45] The OSCE has followed the trials of 127 people charged with the post-election violence. Lawyers and local observers have obtained information about many breaches of international human rights standards, including the right to a lawyer of the defendants’ choice, and forced confessions. In the preliminary hearing of the group trial in which Arifoglu was a defendant, the judge reportedly dismissed allegations of torture raised by the lawyers of several defendants, and observer access to the trial was limited. E-mail correspondence from Fuad Hasanov, director of “Against Violence” Human Rights Center, to Human Rights Watch, dated May 18, 2004.

[46] Human Rights Watch interview with Mubaris Garaev, Baku, February 20, 2004.

[47] “List of Persons on Trials in Connection with the Post Election Events (Public Disorders) in Baku,” provided

by the OSCE to Human Rights Watch on May 26, 2004. Azer Hasret, CASCFEN, stated that another journalist, Ruslan Khalilov, from the opposition daily newspaper Jumhuriyet, was also beaten on October 16 in Azadliq Square and was then arrested and accused of participating in the post-election violence. “One more journalist found… in detention,” Azer Hasret, CASCFEN, [online] http://www.cascfen.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1377 (retrieved August 2, 2004). On March 5, 2004, Khalilov was given a three-year suspended sentence.

[48] Human Rights Watch interview with Ramiz Rzayev, first deputy general procurator, Eldar Nuriyev, deputy general procurator, and Tahir Kazimov, head of the Department of Investigation of Grave Crimes, Baku, March 1, 2004.

[49] Human Rights Watch interview with Ramiz Rzayev, first deputy general procurator, Eldar Nuriyev, deputy general procurator, and Tahir Kazimov, head of the Department of Investigation of Grave Crimes, Baku, March 1, 2004 and Human Rights Watch interview with Ramil Usubov,  minister of interior, Baku, March 3, 2004.

[50] Human Rights Watch interview with Ramil Usubov, minister of interior, Baku, March 3, 2004.

[51] The Minister of Interior stated that in a country of approximately 8,000,000 people, there were 60,000 bearers of press cards in Azerbaijan, many of which were issued by opposition parties to people who were not really journalists. Human Rights Watch interview with Ramil Usubov,  minister of Interior, Baku, March 3, 2004.

[52] Human Rights Watch interview Ramil Usubov, Minister of Interior, Baku, March 3, 2004.

[53] Human Rights Watch interview with Aflatuna Amashov, Baku, February 27, 2004. Human Rights Watch interview with Qanimat Zahidov, chief editor of Azadliq, Baku, February 26, 2004. “First Sitting of Joint Commission with Participation of Press Council Members and Law Enforcement Authorities Takes Place,” February 2, 2004, Turan Information Agency.

[54] Human Rights Watch interview with Aflatuna Amashov, Baku, February 27, 2004. The Azerbaijan state printing press answers to the Presidential Administration.


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