Call for Bureau Reopening
WASHINGTON - The Broadcasting Board of Governors today called on Azerbaijani authorities to cease their investigations of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Baku bureau journalists and to immediately permit the news bureau to reopen.
In
the past three days 23 RFE/RL journalists were interviewed by Azerbaijan's state
prosecutor's office. A lawyer representing the Baku bureau staff said people
were being "dragged" to the prosecutor's office "by force and threats." Another
13 RFE/RL journalists are waiting to be summoned for questioning. Authorities
also began to question family members of journalists. The investigations follow
the raid
and closure of the RFE/RL Baku bureau on Friday, December 26. In early
December, authorities also arrested and jailed prominent Azerbaijani
investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, a contributor to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani
Service programming.
"This
harsh treatment, including direct threats against our journalists, violates
every principle of media freedom," said BBG Chairman Jeff Shell. "We again call
on Azerbaijani authorities to permit RFE/RL's Baku bureau to reopen, to halt the
investigations and harassment of RFE/RL journalists and their families, and to
release Khadija Ismayilova."
In
a related development, on December 26 a Baku court heard
and rejected Ismayilova's appeal . She remains in prison after being
sentenced to two months of pre-trial detention on charges of inciting a
colleague to attempt suicide. Reporters Without Borders has called this "the
latest example of the appalling harassment to which this trailblazer of
investigative journalism has been subjected for years by [Azerbaijan's]
government in its drift towards despotism."
RFE/RL's
Azerbaijani Service is one of the last remaining independent media outlets in
Azerbaijan. Several international organizations that support civil society,
including IREX , the National Democratic Institute, and Oxfam have been forced
to suspend their operations in Azerbaijan this year.
(BBG/29 Dec)
(earlier post of raid on December 26)