Attacks on the Press - Committee to Protect Journalists

attacks on the press in 2009journalists in prison: azerbaijaninterests, CPJ found. Many of them were being held by the Chinese, Iranian,and Cuban governments.»»In about 12 percent of cases, governments used a variety of charges unrelatedto journalism to retaliate against critical writers, editors, and photojournalists.Such charges ranged from regulatory violations to drug possession.In the cases included in this census, CPJ has determined that thecharges were most likely lodged in reprisal for the journalist’s work.»»Violations of censorship rules, the next most common charge, were appliedin about 5 percent of cases. Charges of criminal defamation, reporting“false” news, and engaging in ethnic or religious “insult” constituted theother charges filed against journalists in the census.»»Internet and print journalists made up the bulk of the census. Radio journalistscomposed the next largest professional category, accounting for 7percent of cases. Television journalists and documentary filmmakers eachaccounted for 3 percent.»»The worldwide tally of 136 reflected a 9 percent increase over 2008 and representedthe third-highest number recorded by CPJ in the past decade. (Thedecade high came in 2002, when CPJ recorded 139 journalists in jail.)»»The United States, which was holding freelance photographer Ibrahim Jassamwithout charge in Iraq, made CPJ’s list of countries jailing journalistsfor the sixth consecutive year. During this period, U.S. military authoritieshave jailed numerous journalists in Iraq—some for days, others for monthsat a time—without charge or due process. U.S. authorities appeared to beusing this tactic less frequently in the past two years.CPJ believes that journalists should not be imprisoned for doing their jobs. Theorganization has sent letters expressing its serious concerns to each country thathas imprisoned a journalist. In 2009, CPJ advocacy helped lead to the release ofat least 45 imprisoned journalists.CPJ’s list is a snapshot of those incarcerated at midnight on December 1,2009. It does not include the many journalists imprisoned and released throughoutthe year; accounts of those cases can be found at cpj.org. Journalists remainon CPJ’s list until the organization determines with reasonable certainty thatthey have been released or have died in custody.Journalists who either disappear or are abducted by nonstate entities, includingcriminal gangs, rebels, or militant groups, are not included in the census. Theircases, classified as “missing” or “abducted,” are documented on CPJ’s Web site.136 journalists imprisoned a s o f 12/1/2009AZERBAIJAN: 6Eynulla FatullayevRealny Azerbaijanand Gündalik AzarbaycanIMPRISONED: April 20, 2007Authorities jailed Fatullayev, editor ofthe now-closed independent Russianlanguageweekly Realny Azerbaijanand the Azeri-language daily GündalikAzarbaycan, after convicting him on aseries of politically motivated criminalcharges.The persecution of Fatullayev beganshortly after he published an article allegingan official cover-up in the 2005slaying of journalist Elmar Huseynov,editor of the opposition weekly Monitor.Fatullayev was an investigative reporterfor the Monitor, which closedafter the murder.Fatullayev launched Realny Azerbaijanas a successor to the Monitor—andhe set out to find Huseynov’s killers. InMarch 2007, he produced an in-deptharticle that charged Azerbaijani authoritieswith ignoring evidence in themurder and obstructing the investigation.The piece, “Lead and Roses,” allegedthat Huseynov’s murder was orderedby high-ranking officials in Bakuand carried out by a criminal group.Within a month, in April 2007, aYasamal District Court judge convictedFatullayev of defaming the entireAzerbaijani population in an Internetposting that was falsely attributed tohim. The posting, published on severalWeb sites, said Azerbaijanis boresome responsibility for the 1992 killingsof residents of the restive Nagorno-Karabakhregion, according tolocal news reports. Fatullayev was sentencedto a 30-month term and jailedimmediately, according to the independentnews agency Turan.With Fatullayev jailed, authoritiesevicted Realny Azerbaijan and GündalikAzarbaycan from their Baku offices,citing purported fire safety and buildingcode violations. Both later stoppedpublishing.More charges followed. In October2007, a judge in the Azerbaijani Courtof Serious Crimes found Fatullayevguilty of terrorism, incitement to ethnichatred, and tax evasion. Fatullayev’ssentences were consolidated, and hewas ordered to serve eight years andsix months in prison in all. The terrorismand incitement charges stemmedfrom a Realny Azerbaijan commentaryheadlined “The Aliyevs Go to War,”which sharply criticized President IlhamAliyev’s foreign policy regardingIran. The tax evasion charge allegedthat Fatullayev had concealed incomefrom his two publications.The Supreme Court denied Fatullayev’sappeal in June 2008, endingdomestic legal avenues. Fatullayev appealedto the Strasbourg-based EuropeanCourt of Human Rights, whichbegan reviewing the case in September2008, his lawyer, Isakhan Ashurov, told2882 8 9