Committee to Protect Journalists: Trolls in Azerbaijan Led by Ali Hasanov

Washington DC. / 10.04.18 / Turan: The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) for the second time in recent days issued a critical article on violations of freedom of speech and journalists' rights in Azerbaijan.

The author of the article Gyulnoza Said emphasizes that the strategy of the authorities in this area is developed and implemented by the assistant to the head of state Ali Hasanov.

An integral part of this strategy and tactics is the elimination of critical votes by blocking websites, hacker attacks, and custom publications by trolls. All this continues today - on the eve of the presidential elections on April 11, the author writes.

In March last year, the country's parliament adopted amendments to the law on information and information protection, allowing authorities to block websites without court decisions. Soon the authorities blocked access to the websites of the Azerbaijani service of Radio Liberty, the Internet resource Meydan TV, the website of the newspaper Azadlig, the online resource Turan TV and Azerbaijan Saaty. All these resources operate abroad and the authorities cannot close them, but they are accused of extremism. The basis for such accusations was publications on corruption in the highest echelons of power.

In addition, the authorities blocked the website of the international journalistic project on combating corruption (OCCRP). This happened after in September this website published the report Azerbaijan Laundromat on money laundering by the Azerbaijani authorities.

The self-proclaimed head of the trade union of journalists and a member of the Press Council, Mushfig Aleskerli, did not answer CPJ's questions about the state of the press in the country.

During the hacker attacks organized by the authorities, the online resource Meydan TV lost 100 thousand subscribers and the entire archive database from 2012.

Thanks to the efforts of Facebook, the subscription of 100 thousand readers of the resource was restored, but the archives could not be returned. At the insistence of the authorities, YouTube removed a number of video materials Meydan TV and Radio Azadlig, but later they were restored.

Trolls and hacker attacks remain a serious problem in Azerbaijan; they act on the instructions of the authorities. Trolls are especially active when there are materials on the social networks criticizing the assistant to President, Ali Hasanov.

Several accusations against Hasanov in recent days were made by several journalists and public figures: Oktay Gulaliyev, Sevinj Osmangyzy, and Khadija Ismayilova.

Hasanov rejected his involvement in the activities of the trolls, who write insulting comments against the opponents of the regime.

However, the next day, former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Kauzlarich accused Ali Hasanov of organizing attacks on him in the pro-government press. "Oh but you did organize slander against me personally five years ago - using false news in government-controlled media," he tweeted. -02D-