IPM: tolerance of government to criticism has dropped to zero

The November 13 sentences of the Khatai District Court on conviction of the journalist Sardar Alibeili to 4 years in prison and of the Baku Court of Grave Crimes on a 9-year prison for the blogger Rashad Ramazanov are among the most serious attacks on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. This is stated in the statement of the Media Rights Institute (MRI), which condemns the sentences handed down on the basis of trumped-up charges not proven during the trial . It is also regarded as the suppression of critical voices of the journalist and the blogger, as well as the reduction to zero of the power's tolerance to criticism.

MRI considers it also an indicator of high risk in Azerbaijan for critics of the government.

Chief editor of PS Note and the site www.psnota.com Alibeili was sentenced to 4 years in prison under article 221.3 (hooliganism committed with the use of an object used as a weapon). According to investigators, Alibeili inflicted blows to a man.

Ramazanov the blogger, the statement goes on, criticized the government very hard, at times on the verge of moving beyond the scope of freedom of expression. He was arrested on May 9 by employees of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of MIA on suspicion of drug trafficking and detained for more than 10 days in this department and subjected to torture.

Both men said they were arrested on trumped-up charges and the main reason for their persecution was their critical publications.

MRI also recalls that Alibeili had previously been harassed in various forms for criticizing various officials. Since 2005, he has 11 times been brought to justice, repeatedly received criminal penalties, including in 2009, when he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for defamation and illegal activities of his newspaper. In addition, the journalist has repeatedly been threatened with physical violence.

Ramazanov was arrested after his critical comments on social networks. After his arrest, he was subjected to abuse and violence, which also raises doubts about the veracity of the charges against him.

It initially undermined the trust of MRI in the upcoming sentencing at the court. Given the above, MRI has called for the abolition of indictments against Ramazanov and Alibeili and their immediate release. -06D-