NAKHCHIVAN RFE/RL CORRESPONDENT SENTENCED TO THREE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 001457 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/PPD AND DRL; SOFIA FOR EUR DAS BRYZA E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KPAO AJ SUBJECT: NAKHCHIVAN RFE/RL CORRESPONDENT SENTENCED TO THREE MONTHS' IMPRISONMENT FOR LIBEL REF: BAKU 1404 Classified By: AMBASSADOR ANNE E. DERSE PER 1.4(B,D). ¶1. (U) This is an action request; please see para 6. ¶2. (SBU) On December 6, Nakhchivan Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent Ilgar Nasibov was sentenced to three months' imprisonment on libel charges. The circumstances of the lawsuit remain unclear. According to information received to date, a criminal libel lawsuit against Nasibov was first filed by Nakhchivan City Police Chief Sabuhi Novruzov, based on an e-mail Nasibov sent to President Aliyev's website in which, Nasibov said, he complained about his treatment by Nakhchivani police authorities while he was covering the November 4 eviction of vendors from one of Nakhchivan's primary markets. Acording to the press, Novruzov dropped the lawsui on December 5 in favor of an out-of-court settlement, but on December 6, Nakhchivan-based human rights activists heard that Novruzov would move forward with the lawsuit. Nasibov was summoned to court late on the afternoon of December 6, where he reportedly was tried without an attorney present and convicted. He was transferred immediately to a detention facility. Nakhchivan State University Rector and Member of Parliament Isa Habibbeyli was listed as a plaintiff on the written verdict, but his involvement in the case is unclear. In a December 7 conversation with the Ambassador, Habibbeyli said that he had not lodged a criminal libel complaint against Nasibov. ¶3. (SBU) Shortly after Nasibov's conviction, court bailiffs searched Nasibov's home, with a warrant, and reportedly seized a computer, 86 CDs, 15 diskettes, and two mini CDs. Human rights activists in Nakhchivan believe that the warrant was issued in order to obtain evidence -- after the conviction -- that Nasibov had slandered Habibbeyli. Later on the night of December 6, without a warrant, court bailiffs entered the office of the Human Rights Resource Center (also referred to as the NGO Development Center),an NGO headed by Nasibov's wife, Malahat Nasibova. The bailiffs reportedly confiscated equipment and damaged the office, but Nasibova has so far been unable to confirm the extent of the damage. In addition to his work as a journalist, Nasibov is the head of the Young National Democrats, an NGO that encourages civic activism among youth. Nasibov and his wife were included in a November 7 meeting with the Ambassador during her trip to the exclave (reftel). ¶4. (SBU) At approximately 1120 on December 7, Nasibova and journalist/human rights activist Mahammad Rzayev were detained for thirty minutes at the Nakhchivan Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA),where they refused to sign statements that they had been present when the Human Rights Resource Center was searched. As of 1200, we received reports that opposition Bizim Yol newspaper correspondent Elman Abbasov was still being held at the Nakhchivan MIA. We are following up on this report. ¶5. (C) COMMENT AND EMBASSY ADVOCACY: The December 6 arrest and conviction of Nasibov is the ninth case of an Azerbaijani journalist being prosecuted for reasons related to his or her work. We are particularly troubled by the GOAJ's apparent use of criminal libel charges for information contained in a private e-mail sent to a GOAJ website. In December 7 telephone conversations, the Ambassador raised our concerns regarding this case with Presidential Chief of Staff Ramiz Mehdiyev (who was unaware of the case but promised to look into it) and Minister of Justice Fikret Mammadov, who said that if Nasibov had in fact been tried without an attorney present, that would constitute grounds a serious procedural violation and would be grounds for an appeal. The Ambassador also raised the case with Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov (Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is out of the country), and Human Rights Ombudswoman Elmira Suleymanova, who both expressed concern at Nasibov's arrest and promised to look into the matter. The Ambassador also is placing a call to Nakhchivan Parliament Chair Vasif Talibov and, as noted above, expressed concern over the case to Nakhchivani MP Isa Habibbeyli, who denied any involvement in Nasibov's case. We sent a diplomatic note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, protesting Nasibov's arrest and conviction and calling for his release. Pol/Econ Chief will travel to Nakhchivan on December 11 to further investigate the incident and underscore our concerns regarding the overall human rights situation in Nakhchivan. ¶6. (SBU) ACTION REQUEST: We recommend that the Department issue a statement expressing our concern. Suggested text follows: We are disturbed by the conviction and imprisonment on December 6 of Ilgar Nasibov, a correspondent for Radio Liberty in Nakhchivan. This attack against one of the country's most professional and objective media organizations is yet another indication of the rapid deterioration of media freedom in Azerbaijan. Information available to date suggests the investigation and judicial proceedings under which Ilgar Nasibov was convicted failed to respect due process and the rule of law. The continuing failure to respect freedom of the media is inconsistent with the Government of Azerbaijan's stated commitments to human rights and democratic reform. The U.S. Embassy has raised these concerns with appropriate Azerbaijani government officials and will send a diplomat to Nakhchivan next week to investigate the circumstances of this case. We have also called upon the Government of Azerbaijan to take immediate measures to review this and other cases in which journalists have been imprisoned for what they write and to fully comply with its stated commitments to respect freedom of speech and rule of law. (End text of proposed statement.) DERSE