The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities in Azerbaijan to conduct an efficient and transparent investigation into the attack on Rasim Aliyev, determine the motive, and ensure all of the perpetrators are brought to justice.
"We condemn the killing of Rasim Aliyev and urge authorities to probe the fatal attack in the most thorough and transparent way," said CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova.
"The administration of President Ilham Aliyev must stop the repression of journalists and human rights activists, which has nurtured the climate of impunity that made this attack possible."
Aliyev, 30, contributed reporting to several independent news websites and was the chairman of the Baku-based press freedom group Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), which was raided last year. Several of the group's staff members have reported being harassed. Prior to the fatal attack against Aliyev over the weekend, the journalist had received threats in connection with his work and critical posts he wrote on social networks about the climate for press freedom and human rights in the country, according to local and international news reports.
Amid a crackdown on traditional media in Azerbaijan, some activists and journalists have taken to social networking sites in an attempt to give the public an alternative to state media, CPJ research shows.
Aliyev sought help at a hospital for broken ribs and difficulty in hearing after being attacked in the Sabail district of Baku, according to news reports. He died early Sunday after he underwent surgery, the reports said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned the attack and called it a "threat to freedom of speech and expression," according to regional press reports.
The climate for press freedom in Azerbaijan remains at an all-time low. At last eight journalists--including the award-winning reporter Khadija Ismayilova--are imprisoned on fabricated charges in retaliation for their work. The few remaining critical news outlets and their staff members often face official harassment, including debilitating lawsuits, evictions, a ban on foreign funding, and arbitrary travel bans, according to CPJ research and news reports. In the past month, several exiled journalists reported that authorities are putting pressure on their relatives in Azerbaijan in order to silence the journalists abroad.
Politics
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On January 23, the Baku Court of Appeal considered the complaint of Meydan TV journalist Natig Javadli against the refusal to transfer him to house arrest.
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On January 23, the Deputy Commander of the Azerbaijani Ground Forces, Ilgar Latifov, met with a Pakistani delegation headed by the Director General of Military Operations, Abdullah Kashif. The parties discussed the state and prospects for the development of military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Pakistan, as well as the importance of increasing the intensity of joint exercises.
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The announcement of 2025 as the "Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty" in Azerbaijan has sparked rumors and speculation about the government's plans to hold a constitutional referendum this year. Today's statement in the Milli Majlis by the head of the parliamentary committee on human rights and concurrently the director of the Center for Humanitarian Studies, Zahid Oruj, confirmed that these expectations are not groundless.
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As part of the peace process with Azerbaijan, Armenia has proposed solutions to all agenda issues, stated Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of Armenia's Security Council, on January 23. "We are not asking for peace, we are offering peaceful solutions to all existing issues. For the two unresolved points, we have sent proposals and are waiting for a response from the Azerbaijani side. We hope that we will find solutions," Grigoryan said, according to Armenian media. Meanwhile, the press service of Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Turan that "negotiations on the text of the peace agreement are ongoing."
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