Journalists Demand Immediate Release of Avaz Zeynally

A lawsuit against Avaz Zeynally, chief editor of "Khural" newspaper was fabricated for political reasons and the investigation was biased, but the court did not actually investigate the case and the verdict became a copy of the indictment. This is the conclusion made by the Journalistic Preventive Response Group, which conducted its own investigation of the case against Zeynally.

The report on Zeynally’s case was published on July 11, at the roundtable in the office of the IRFS.

A member of the group, Afghan Mukhtarly, noted that on the eve of Zeynally's appeal in the Supreme Court, his fellow journalists decided to increase efforts to justify Zeynally. It is necessary to increase pressure on the government, and to intensify its work with international organizations, he said, proposing to include the Zeynally’s release on the agenda of the National Council.

Lawyer Elchin Sadigov noted that complaints against illegal arrest and searches at the office and apartment of a journalist have already been sent to the European Court of Human Rights. If the Supreme Court does not reject the sentence, the complaint will go to Strasbourg. Journalist-investigator Shahveled Chobanoglu called on authorities to stop the attempts to crush independent reporting.

Mehman Aliyev, Director of Turan news agency, said that the independent journalistic investigation confirmed political motives in the case against Zeynally. The order for Zeynally’s arrest came from the presidential administration and its leader, Ramiz Mehdiyev. Zeynally was arrested for "political revenge" because he criticized and exposed senior officials. The purpose of the criminal prosecution of Zeynally is to silence free media.

According to Aliyev, the creation of the National Council will promote the formation of a new political situation before the elections, which opens opportunities to address human rights issues.

Rashid Hajily, Director of the Media Rights Institute said that Zeynally’s arrest of Zeynally affects the pursuit of freedom of speech in Azerbaijan as a whole.

IRFS Director, Emin Huseynov, said there are over 60 political prisoners in the country, including two human rights defenders and seven journalists. He called for the consolidation of the efforts of the democratic public for their release.

During the meeting, there were also proposals to picket on July 22, the Day of National Press, and demand the release of Zeynally and other journalists.

*Zeynally was arrested in October 2011 on a complaint from ex-MP, Guler Ahmadova, who herself is now under arrest for fraud. On March 12, the Baku Serious Crimes Court found the editor guilty under the following Articles of the Criminal Code: 311.3.3 (bribery on a large scale), 311.4 (extortion by threats), 306 (non-enforcement of the judgment) and 213.1 (evasion of taxes in a significant amount), and sentenced him to nine years in prison. Subsequently, the Baku Court of Appeal upheld this verdict.—16B/06-