Прошло 18 лет с момента убийства Эльмара Гусейнова, сдержано ли данное слово?

Today, is the 18th anniversary of the murder of the editor-in-chief of the Monitor magazine, journalist Elmar Huseynov. The journalist, known for his harsh critical articles, was killed by gunfire in the block of his home  on March 2, 2005. The Prosecutor General's Office opened a criminal case on the murder under articles 120.2.4 and 228 of the Criminal Code (premeditated murder with extreme cruelty and illegal possession, carrying firearms). President Ilham Aliyev, calling this murder a "black spot" on the image of Azerbaijan, said that everything possible will soon be done to solve the crime, punish the customers and murderers. But the perpetrators and customers of this murder still remain aloof from responsibility. In this regard, it has not yet been possible to establish contact with the Prosecutor General's Office.

However, a member of the Milli Majlis Committee on Human Rights, Fazil Mustafa, told Turan that the fact that Huseynov's killers were not found is really suggestive, "because years have passed, but there is nothing new in the case."

According to the deputy, this case may have needed more professional research: "or specialists invited from abroad at that time should have brought the matter to an end. But in any case, it remains a mystery. The fact that the killers have not been found is not the best result. Bringing the murderers to justice would increase the credibility of the law."

Mustafa believes that the print journalism of Azerbaijan in the old days was stronger, both in boldness of expression and in capabilities: "The professionalism of journalists in the format of a blogger or website is lower in any case. Flexibility in modern journalism in terms of instant receipt of information and its transmission to society is more obvious. But more educated, professional journalists could work in print media."

Media expert Alesker Mammadli told Radio Azadlig that Huseynov's murder was a turning point in terms of the emergence of a sense of fear among journalists: "At that time, journalist Arif Aliyev wrote a wonderful article entitled "Each of the journalists has a fear of the entrance (of the house)." This is the block where the perpetrators who shot Elmar Huseynov never appeared in court. The responsibility for this lies with the Government. Then such persons as (citizens of Georgia) were named Tair Khubanov, Teymuraz Aliyev. At the same time, it became clear from journalistic investigations that the issue of their declaration on the international wanted list was false."

As for the state of journalism, according to the expert, not only murder, but also other aspects stand out here: "This is illegal interference in the privacy of journalists, cyber and physical attacks on them. And this inevitably forces journalists to behave more cautiously."

Mammadli stressed that this fear, which lasted for 18 years, had negative consequences: "after Elmar Huseynov, there were attempts on the lives of other journalists. Publicist Rafik Taghi was stabbed for writing in 2011, and then died in hospital, journalist Rasim Aliyev was beaten for writing in 2015, and then died in hospital. All this in one form or another makes journalists think that they are facing death, which creates a negative atmosphere from the point of view of freedom of speech."

Huseynov began his journalistic activity in 1995 and did not leave this professional workshop until his death. March 2, 2005 (he was not yet 38 years old) he was killed by an unknown person with a firearm in front of the threshold of his apartment, returning from work. Despite the fact that 18 years have passed since the incident, the customers and perpetrators of the murder have not yet been brought to justice.

After his death, the journalist's wife and young son emigrated to Norway. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided that Huseynov's murder was not effectively investigated in Azerbaijan. The complaint to the ECHR was filed by the wife of the late journalist Rushania Huseynov. According to the decree, the Azerbaijani government was fined 20 thousand euros for moral damage and 10 thousand euros for legal costs.