Free Azerbaijani Journalist Mehman Huseynov

As WorldPress Freedom Day is celebrated across the globe on May 3, we, the undersignedorganizations, cannot forget the untenable price journalists pay for governmentcriticism in Azerbaijan. The case of MehmanHuseynov is emblematic. Huseynov is a popular journalist and blogger inAzerbaijan who is known for his hard-hitting exposés of alleged corruption bysenior Azerbaijani officials. In March 2017, a Baku court sentenced him to twoyears in prison on charges of defaming an entire police station, after he gavea statement in front of the courthouse in which he described the abuses he hadsuffered at that police station.

OnJanuary 9, a group of plain-clothes officers attacked Mehman Huseynov,blindfolded and gagged him with towels, forced a bag over his head and took himto the Nasimi district police station, where police used an electroshock weaponon his groin, and punched him, bloodying his nose. The next day, officers tookhim before a court that found him guilty of disobeying police orders and finedhim 200 manat (US$120).

Mehman Huseynovremained defiant, went public about the abuses he suffered at the station, andfiled a complaint with the prosecutor’s office. The authorities formally openedan inquiry into Huseynov’s allegations, but swiftly closed the inquiry claimingthe allegations were groundless. On April 27, an appeal court upheld the prosecutor’sdecision to shut down the investigation.

Whileauthorities refused to conduct a credible investigation into Huseynov’s tortureallegations, the Nasimi police chief brought a criminal lawsuit against him fordefamation. After just two hearings, a court found Huseynov guilty and sentencedhim to two years in prison.

Mehman Huseynovhas been targeted by the government for years, since the authorities broughtbogus criminal charges against the Institute for Reporters’ Freedomand Safety (IRFS), founded by his brother, Emin Huseynov, who was forced toflee the country for his own safety. Since 2012, Mehman Huseynov hasbeen under a travel ban and has been repeatedly harassed andintimidated by the police.

Theimprisonment of Mehman Huseynov isanother step by the Azerbaijani authorities to retaliate against him for hiscritical journalism and defiance, but also to deter others from seeking justicefor police abuse, a persistent and well-documented problem in Azerbaijan. Atleast 5 other journalists and bloggers are currently in prison on politicallymotivated charges in Azerbaijan.

On a daywhen the world commemorates the fundamental importance of press freedom, we callon the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release MehmanHuseynov and hold to account those responsible for the torture and otherill-treatment he was subjected to. This would mark an important step towards ensuringpress freedoms and guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression inAzerbaijan.

- AmnestyInternational

- ARTICLE19

- BarysZvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House

- BirDuino-Kyrgyzstan

- CanadianJournalists for Free Expression

- Centerfor Civil Liberties

- Centrefor the Development of Democracy and Human Rights

- CivilRights Defenders

- Committeeto Protect Journalists

- Dignity

- EnglishPEN

- FIDH,under the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

- FreedomFiles

- FrontLine Defenders

- GolosSvobody Kyrgyzstan

- HumanRights Club

- HumanRights First

- HumanRights House Foundation

- HumanRights Watch

- IFEX

- InternationalMedia Support

- InternationalPartnership for Human Rights

- Institutefor Reporters’ Freedom and Safety

- KazakhstanInternational Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law

- NetherlandsHelsinki Committee

- NorwegianHelsinki Committee

- PENAmerica

- PENInternational

- Peoplein Need

- RegionalCenter for Strategic Studies

- ReportersWithout Borders (RSF)

- WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), under the Observatory for the Protectionof Human Rights Defenders