Editor-in Chief of the Reallıq info demands to investigate the activities of the Trade Union of Journalists, the Press Council and the State Media Support Fund

Baku/22.01.21/Turan: Ali Hasanov, the Assistant to the President of the country for socio-political issues was dismissed in 2019; and Vugar Safarli, the former head of the State Support Fund for Media Development, was dismissed on January 14, 2021. They were dismissed for large-scale embezzlement of state funds. Their dismissal makes relevant a public investigation of the activities of the organizations created with the support of A. Hasanov. Before the arrest and dismissal of these figures, the editor-in-chief of the Realliq.info portal Ikram Rahimov (Rafikoglu) was engaged in this.

On October 26, 2018, I. Rahimov was detained, in 2019, he was sentenced to 5.5 years of imprisonment under the article for extortion; and in 2020, Rahimov was released on parole. In the pre-trial detention center, he went on a dry hunger strike demanding his release and claiming that he was punished for publishing corruption information about Ali Hasanov and his team.

Ikram Rahimov accused Mushvig Aleskerli, chair of the Journalists' Trade Union, Deputy Chairman of the Press Council and former member of the Supervisory Board of the Media State Support Fund (MSSF), of being arrested upon submission to law enforcement agencies by the Board of the Press Council.

On January 21, on the Political Platform program on YouTube channel, Avaz Zeynalli, the head of the Khural media group (sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment in 2012 with an official charge of extortion, but according to human rights activists was punished for political publications) organized a public discussion of Mushvig Aleskerli and Ikram Rahimov.

M.Aleskerli presented to the viewers a list of 11 statements published by his opponent, in which Rahimov accuses the chair of the journalist trade union of specific moral and criminal offenses. I. Rahimov believes that, being one of the decisive figures in Ali Hasanov's team, M. Aleskerli is responsible, at least for the fact that he did not inform law enforcement agencies about the embezzlement of budget funds in the State Press Support Fund. He did not inform about these criminal offenses during the construction of residential buildings for journalists, distribution of those apartments, distribution of state grants among mass media close to the authorities, awarding the highest journalist prize of the Press Council to people far from journalism, and assistance in the criminal prosecution of journalists by Ali Hasanov’s order.

The Press Council, where deputy chair was M. Aleskerli, sent submissions to the power structures to arrest free and opposition journalists, and never once protected them from reprisals. Rahimov gave an example: when in 2017 the director of Turan news agency Mehman Aliyev was arrested on false charges of tax evasion, the chair of the Press Council Aflatun Amashev said that Turan did nothing to be remembered for its activities. The journalist argued that by the order of A. Hasanov and V. Safarli, the Press Council with the participation of M. Aleskerli gave disgraceful label of “racketeers” to objectionable journalists.

“If M. Aleskerli pretends to be a fighter for purity in the journalistic sphere, why didn't he inform the state about the theft of budget by Vugar Safarli, why doesn't he want to report Ali Hasanov's crimes? Moreover, in an interview he praised the work of this Fund, saying that the Media State Support Fund (MSSF) is working at a decent level. Why did he justify the conviction of journalist Polad Aslanov?” Rahimov asked.

At this time, one of the viewers of the discussion, the wife of Aslanov, the arrested journalist, posted a note in the forum saying that her husband was arrested, and continues to serve a prison term at the request of three persons. The name of M.Aleskerli was not among them.

Ikram Rahimov called the Journalists' Trade Union a non-existent organization engaged in embezzlement of grants and called on the state to investigate the activities of M. Aleskerli, who, at least if he did not appropriate state funds, but being aware of the crimes assisted them and did not report to law enforcement agencies.

Mushvig Aleskerli rejected all the accusations of his opponent, stating that he was one of the leaders of the listed organizations, but he himself did not take the decisions that Rahimov speaks about. He said that he was not close to Ali Hasanov, has nothing to do with the fact that Hasanov's wife, Sona Veliyeva, twice received the highest award from the Press Council. Vugar Safarli, the head of the MSSF, who was arrested for embezzlement of budgetary funds, received the same award.

“I have nothing to do with the fact that the MSSF issued grants to the newspapers “Ses” and “İki Sahil,” said the chairman of the journalists' Trade Union denying the accusations. As Rahimov previously argued, these newspapers are not readable, and, according to the discussion moderator Avaz Zeynalli, state organizations forced citizens to subscribe to pro-government media.

M. Aleskerli believes that the long-term persecution of him by I. Rahimov is explained by the event of 2017: then he was engaged in a complaint against I. Rahimov, sent to the Press Council from the Neftchala power network. Instead of publishing the position of this department, the editor-in-chief of Reallıg.az began to persecute Aleskerli in the press.

M. Aleskerli suggested that I. Rahimov has something to do with the Azerbaijani mafia, which has settled in government structures and prevents public organizations from receiving a grant amounting more than 10 thousand manats.

“A grant of 5-10 thousand manats can be received by many, but if the amount is higher, this mafia, whose names I can’t name yet, because I’m afraid for my life, begins to denigrate the applicant, uses false denunciations, and brings  a person to such a state that  the applicant refuses a grant,” M.Aleskerli said. He was unable to receive a grant of 100 thousand euros.

A.Zeynalli called this statement sensational, asked M.Aleskerli to appear on an Internet forum exposing this mafia and recalled how he himself became a victim of this secret organization several years ago, without receiving a grant of 90 thousand dollars after his release from prison.

A.Zeynalli is surprised that now, after the revelations, Mushvig Aleskerli is trying to deny his connection with the dubious activities of the Press Council and the Media State Support Fund. –0—