Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BAKU1182
2006-08-10 13:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baku
Cable title:
AZERBAIJAN: OPPOSITION EDITOR DETAINED, REPORTEDLY
how-toVZCZCXRO6894 PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHLA RUEHMRE RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHKB #1182 2221325 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 101325Z AUG 06 FM AMEMBASSY BAKU TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1009 INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001182
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM PINR AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: OPPOSITION EDITOR DETAINED, REPORTEDLY
SENTENCED IN HASTY TRIAL
Classified By: ACTING DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION JOAN POLASCHIK PER 1.4(B,
D)
C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001182
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM PINR AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: OPPOSITION EDITOR DETAINED, REPORTEDLY
SENTENCED IN HASTY TRIAL
Classified By: ACTING DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION JOAN POLASCHIK PER 1.4(B,
D)
1. (SBU) On August 9, Shahin Agabayli, the editor of a small
opposition newspaper, was detained, apparently to compel his
appearance in court. Agabayli had failed to appear in court
to defend libel charges brought against his paper, Milli Yol,
by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Embassy sources
indicate that Agabayli may face two separate libel lawsuits:
one from the MIA and one from former Deputy Speaker of
Parliament and current Member of Parliament, Arif Rahimzade.
MIA spokesman Ehsan Zahidov told the press that Baku's Nisami
district court ruled on August 3 that Agabayli must be
brought to court "by force" after Agabayli ignored several
court summons.
2. (SBU) According to press reports, during the evening of
August 9, Agabayli received a phone call from an anonymous
source requesting a meeting. Agabayli agreed, and upon
arrival at the determined location, was arrested by
plain-clothes police officers. Parvin Kazimzada, a Milli Yol
correspondent, had accompanied Agabayli to the meeting but
was not detained. Agabayli was reportedly taken first to a
police station, then to the Organized Crime Unit (OCU)
detention unit. Local journalists were unable to confirm
Agabayli's detention, and rumors circulated throughout August
10 as to his whereabouts.
3. (SBU) While we still have been unable to definitively
confirm Agabayli's whereabouts as of 1700 on August 10, the
editor of a widely-read opposition newspaper told us that
Agabayli was found guilty of libel and sentenced to one year
imprisonment following a hastily organized trial on August
10. The trial reportedly was not for the MIA lawsuit, for
which Agabayli evidently was detained, but for the lawsuit
filed by Rahimzade. Our contact also reported that Agabayli's
lawyer was not present during the trial.
4. (C) COMMENT: While the full details of this detention
still are emerging, the MIA libel lawsuit against Milli Yol
represents the latest in a string of GOAJ libel lawsuits
against pro-opposition newspapers. Viewed in conjunction with
a series of physical attacks on journalists, this points to a
worrying up-tick in pressure levied on journalists. An
analytical report on media trends over the last six months
will follow septel.
5. (C) BIO NOTE: Prior to founding the Milli Yol newspaper,
Agabayli served as deputy of the Gray Wolf party. Although
now small and irrelevant, the Gray Wolf party had immense
power in the early 1990s - which peaked when Albufaz Elchibey
became President in 1992. Due to a conflict with Gray Wolf
Chair (and former Minister of Interior Affairs) Iskender
Hamidov, Agabayli left the party in 2005. He ran as an
opposition candidate in the 2005 Parliamentary Elections,
against the powerful Rahimzade, and according to Embassy
sources, harshly criticized Rahimzade during the campaign
period.
HYLAND
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM PINR AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: OPPOSITION EDITOR DETAINED, REPORTEDLY
SENTENCED IN HASTY TRIAL
Classified By: ACTING DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION JOAN POLASCHIK PER 1.4(B,
D)
1. (SBU) On August 9, Shahin Agabayli, the editor of a small
opposition newspaper, was detained, apparently to compel his
appearance in court. Agabayli had failed to appear in court
to defend libel charges brought against his paper, Milli Yol,
by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Embassy sources
indicate that Agabayli may face two separate libel lawsuits:
one from the MIA and one from former Deputy Speaker of
Parliament and current Member of Parliament, Arif Rahimzade.
MIA spokesman Ehsan Zahidov told the press that Baku's Nisami
district court ruled on August 3 that Agabayli must be
brought to court "by force" after Agabayli ignored several
court summons.
2. (SBU) According to press reports, during the evening of
August 9, Agabayli received a phone call from an anonymous
source requesting a meeting. Agabayli agreed, and upon
arrival at the determined location, was arrested by
plain-clothes police officers. Parvin Kazimzada, a Milli Yol
correspondent, had accompanied Agabayli to the meeting but
was not detained. Agabayli was reportedly taken first to a
police station, then to the Organized Crime Unit (OCU)
detention unit. Local journalists were unable to confirm
Agabayli's detention, and rumors circulated throughout August
10 as to his whereabouts.
3. (SBU) While we still have been unable to definitively
confirm Agabayli's whereabouts as of 1700 on August 10, the
editor of a widely-read opposition newspaper told us that
Agabayli was found guilty of libel and sentenced to one year
imprisonment following a hastily organized trial on August
10. The trial reportedly was not for the MIA lawsuit, for
which Agabayli evidently was detained, but for the lawsuit
filed by Rahimzade. Our contact also reported that Agabayli's
lawyer was not present during the trial.
4. (C) COMMENT: While the full details of this detention
still are emerging, the MIA libel lawsuit against Milli Yol
represents the latest in a string of GOAJ libel lawsuits
against pro-opposition newspapers. Viewed in conjunction with
a series of physical attacks on journalists, this points to a
worrying up-tick in pressure levied on journalists. An
analytical report on media trends over the last six months
will follow septel.
5. (C) BIO NOTE: Prior to founding the Milli Yol newspaper,
Agabayli served as deputy of the Gray Wolf party. Although
now small and irrelevant, the Gray Wolf party had immense
power in the early 1990s - which peaked when Albufaz Elchibey
became President in 1992. Due to a conflict with Gray Wolf
Chair (and former Minister of Interior Affairs) Iskender
Hamidov, Agabayli left the party in 2005. He ran as an
opposition candidate in the 2005 Parliamentary Elections,
against the powerful Rahimzade, and according to Embassy
sources, harshly criticized Rahimzade during the campaign
period.
HYLAND