JOURNALIST EYNULLA FATULLAYEV CONVICTED OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001306 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM AJ SUBJECT: JOURNALIST EYNULLA FATULLAYEV CONVICTED OF SUPPORTING TERRORISM, INCITING HATRED, AND TAX EVASION REF: A. BAKU 500 ¶B. BAKU 616 ¶C. BAKU 758 ¶D. BAKU 804 Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF JOAN POLASCHIK PER 1.4(B,D). ¶1. (SBU) On October 30, already-jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev was sentenced to eight years and six months' imprisonment on charges of supporting terrorism, inciting ethnic and religious hatred, and tax evasion (articles 214.1, 283.2.2, and 213.2.2 of the criminal code); he was also fined 245,000 AZN. Fatullayev, the Editor-In-Chief of Realny Azerbaijan newspaper (previously the highest circulation newsmagazine in the country) and Gundelik Azerbaijan newspaper, was previously convicted on libel charges and sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment (ref a). The eight-and-a-half-year sentence includes the previous 30-month sentence. Fatullayev has publicly and repeatedly declared these charges to be "ridiculous," and his defense attorneys told Emboff that they plan to file an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights. Publication of both newspapers has been suspended since the Ministry of Emergency Situations closed their offices on May 20, citing "structural deficiencies" (ref b). ¶2. (C) The latest charges against Fatullayev were based on an article Fatullayev authored criticizing the GOAJ for its relationship with Iran. In the article, Fatullayev listed a number of state facilities -- including their addresses -- which Iran could target in the future. The GOAJ stated that this constituted a "terrorist threat" and opened a case in May. On June 14, Presidential Chief of Staff Ramiz Mehdiyev told a group of Western Ambassadors that Fatullayev was an "Iranian and Armenian spy who calls himself a journalist," and that the GOAJ had serious evidence to back up its case (ref c). Mehdiyev also shared a Farsi-language document which he said proved Fatullayev's connections. (The Embassy translated the document and transmitted it to Washington in ref d; the document contains no specific mention of Fatullayev.) Fatullayev's previous libel conviction was based on an article he allegedly penned questioning the GOAJ's role in the 1992 events in Khojali. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Fatullayev's eight-and-a-half-year sentence is the heaviest sentence handed down to an Azerbaijani journalist to date. We remain extremely concerned by the GOAJ's actions to limit the independent media. We will continue to press the GOAJ for the release of all seven jailed journalists and for the need to decriminalize libel. We will also continue to monitor Fatullayev's case and report substantive developments. DERSE