Huseynov astutely used social media to effectively bring
corruption in Azerbaijan to the attention of his fellow citizens. The response of the authorities to that has
been brutal. In early 2017, he was
arrested and physically assaulted while held in police custody. When the case was heard in Court, despite a
judge that asked for the matter to be properly investigated, the police
department in question doubled down and launched fabricated “defamation”
charges against Huseynov – for the “slandering of the department” – which then
lead to a sentence of two years in prison.
Totally uncalled for. Totally
unjust. Yet totally acceptable in
today’s Azerbaijan.
It is of course common practice in President Aliyev’s Azerbaijan
for the ruling family and those around them to crack down on journalists that
they deem to be critical of them by launching defamation and other civil and
criminal actions against journalists and the free press.
Add to that that Huseynov has also been a long-term critic of close circle of President Aliyev and his corrupt regime in general. Huseynov identified how they casually and
regularly degrade civil liberties and the freedom of the press in Azerbaijan
every day. Keep that in mind and you
start to get the real picture as to why he was imprisoned.
With just a couple of months of his sentence left to run, the
authorities decided that they hadn’t yet finished with Huseynov. In late December 2018, it was reported that
Huseynov had been hit with a further charge of “resisting a representative of the authorities with the use of violence
dangerous to his health and life.”
How convenient.
Especially so as throughout his time in prison, Huseynov received any
number of direct approaches from representatives of the Aliyev regime telling
him to cease and desist in his criticism of the government – something that
Huseynov refused to do, even behind bars, as one would expect of a man of such integrity.
To add insult to injury, Huseynov’s mother passed away in
August 2018. In a staggering display of
vindictiveness, he was denied compassionate leave to visit her in her final
hours.
If found guilty of this latest charge (and who would be
betting against that, given what has happened so far), Huseynov faces up to anywhere
between an extra five to seven years further in prison.
Understandably, Huseynov’s case has been roundly condemned by
both IFEX, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety and Reporters
Without Borders. And the criticism of both
his incarceration and the corrupt, repressive regime that currently hangs over Azerbaijan
is not just limited to those respectable institutions. The new US ambassador to Azerbaijan, Earle D.
Litzenberger, announced the following upon taking up his position:
“…democracies thrive
only when bolstered by an independent judiciary, respect for the rule of law, a
free media, a vibrant civil society, pluralism, democratic electoral processes,
and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Those are words that one would almost expect to find on the
resume of Mehman Huseynov and certainly not on that of President Aliyev.
The authorities’ obsession with restricting voices of dissent
and justified criticism continues unabated.
The dark clouds of oppression continue to gather over those who yearn
for freedom and government accountability in all parts of the world, including
of course Azerbaijan – something which Huseynov has been proud to be a
prominent and effective part of exposing and challenging.
In response to the latest trumped up charges against him,
being held in solitary confinement and being denied access to a lawyer,
Huseynov began a no-liquid hunger strike in protest on 27th December
2018. A hunger strike with liquid is one
thing, one without is yet another.
Within the space of just a few days, Huseynov’s health began to
deteriorate markedly. He is now in what
is being called a critical condition and while he still has no access to a
lawyer, he also has no access to medical help either. That is absolutely unacceptable and a further
stain on the tarnished reputation of the repressive Aliyev regime.
On 7th January 2019, the Council of Europe
Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, called on the Azerbaijani government to
release Huseynov and respect and implement an environment of human rights – and
therefore by extension, freedom of the press.
Unsurprisingly, supporters of the authorities have, despite
the travesty of this case, launched thinly veiled attacks on Huseynov – even as
he languishes in solitary confinement and in a precarious, potentially deadly,
state of health. MP Sahib Aliyev (you
will note the coincidence of the last name…) condemned Huseynov as “not being a
journalist” and hinted that Huseynov had essentially brought this all upon
himself as if it were no one else’s fault, as recently as January 9th
2019. Quite how that works is anyone’s guess as despite the job title that
Huseynov may or may not have, his unjust treatment for simply exposing
corruption and shining a light on the truth in Azerbaijan remains just the
same.
Should Huseynov pass away, then the world will be worse off
for that and the search for truth will have taken another body blow. The responsibility of this tragic waste of
human life, that of a man who was simply committed to the principles of justice,
government accountability and human rights, rests squarely with the authorities
of Azerbaijan and no-one else.
Jan 09 2019
Namig Aghayev
Jan 09 2019
Namig Aghayev
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