OSCE MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE BLASTS "UNFORTUNATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000354

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM AJ
SUBJECT: OSCE MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE BLASTS "UNFORTUNATE
TREND" OF PRESSURE AGAINST JOURNALISTS

REF: A. BAKU 268

B. 07 BAKU 1532

Classified By: Ambassador Anne E. Derse per 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary: OSCE Media Freedom Representative Haraszti
capped off an April 6-9 visit to Baku with a press conference
in which he blasted an "unfortunate trend" of pressure
against Azerbaijani journalists, and specifically blamed
Prosecutor General Garalov for a "disgraceful" propaganda
campaign against Azadliq journalist Agil Khalil (ref a). In
a private meeting with the Ambassador, Haraszti said that the
GOAJ's obvious "fabrication" that Azadliq journalist Agil
Khalil was stabbed during a homosexual lovers' spat and the
"massive propaganda action" launched against Khalil convinced
him of the need to deliver this unusually blunt public
message. Haraszti said GOAJ officials claimed that they had
implemented a de facto moratorium on criminal libel cases
against journalists but could not stop law enforcement
authorities from investigating other criminal cases against
journalists. Haraszti believes the GOAJ is "fabricating"
cases against journalists in retaliation for their
investigative reporting on corruption, and expects the trend
to continue through the October election. Haraszti urged
OSCE member states to continue their engagement on media
freedom issues. End summary.

AN UNUSUALLY BLUNT MESSAGE
--------------


2. (SBU) In a widely covered April 9 press conference,
visiting OSCE Media Freedom Representative Miklos Haraszti
blasted an "unfortunate trend" of pressure against
Azerbaijani journalists. In unusually blunt language,
Haraszti accused the "Azerbaijani authorities" of
"fabricating cases against journalists," pointing to the
ongoing smear campaign against Azadliq journalist Agil Khalil
as evidence. Haraszti stated that the ongoing, public
allegations from government officials that Khalil had been
stabbed during a homosexual lovers' spat had been "prepared
and managed from a single center" and publicly criticized
Prosecutor General Zakir Garalov's handling of the case.
Haraszti also called on President Aliyev to pardon imprisoned
journalists.


3. (C) In an April 9 meeting with the Ambassador, Haraszti
said that his private meeting with Khalil's mother had
convinced him of the need to publicly label the smear
campaign against Khalil as a centrally orchestrated move
specifically designed to increase pressure on journalists.
Khalil's mother detailed to Haraszti an April 3 meeting with
senior Baku police officials - in Khalil's home village of
Kurdamir - in which the police officials pressured Khalil's
family to recant claims that he had been stabbed or else the
family would face "unimaginable suffering." Khalil's mother
told Haraszti that the family was presented with three
options: Khalil should either admit that he stabbed himself,
that he was stabbed by an Azadliq newspaper colleague, or he
should drop his claim. Khalil and his family refused to
submit to the pressure and, the very next day, the GOAJ began
its public allegations that Khalil was stabbed by a
homosexual lover.


4. (C) Haraszti said that Khalil's mother's very compelling
story - coupled with the complete lack of credible evidence
presented by the Prosecutor General - led Haraszti to
conclude that this was a smear campaign, and needed to be
publicly identified as such. He characterized GOAJ actions
in Khalil's case as typical Soviet-style dirty tricks, part
of a long pattern of law enforcement authorities abusing the
justice system to punish perceived enemies of the state.
Haraszti was extremely critical of the gross violations of
rule-of-law, privacy and journalistic standards included in
the campaign against Khalil. Haraszti noted that various
GOAJ media outlets had included him in their smear campaign
against Khalil.

DETAILS OF THE KHALIL CASE
--------------


5. (C) Haraszti's private discussion April 9 with the
Ambassador contrasted greatly with his April 8 briefing for
OSCE member states, in which he was careful to note that he
could not make a final judgment on whose version of the
Khalil case was accurate. (Haraszti noted this contrast to
the Ambassador and emphasized that his April 9 meeting with
Khalil's mother was key to his final conclusions.) In both
meetings, Haraszti outlined his April 8 discussion with

Prosecutor General Garalov, noting that prosecutor had built
his case around three pieces of evidence. First, the
communications records detailed an existing relationship
between Khalil and his alleged homosexual lover. Second, in
a separate criminal investigation of Khalil's alleged
homosexual lover, the Prosecutor General reportedly uncovered
transcripts of text messages that proved the two had a sexual
relationship. Third, Khalil's alleged lover "confessed" to
the March 13 stabbing.


6. (C) Haraszti was very skeptical of the Prosecutor
General's evidence. He noted that the Prosecutor General
declined to provide a direct answer to Haraszti's question as
to whether the February and March attacks on Khalil were
linked. Haraszti believes one of the key questions for both
cases is whether Khalil was followed prior to the March 13
stabbing, a possibility that the Prosecutor General flatly
dismissed without providing any evidence. Haraszti noted to
the OSCE member states that the GOAJ is "very far from
proving its case" regarding the confession of Khalil's
alleged lover, and the "massive propaganda campaign" has
resulted in a "total blockage" of the GOAJ investigation into
the February 22 attack. He noted that the attacks on Khalil
were part of the larger trend that is "not in compliance with
Azerbaijan's press freedom commitments."


7. (C) Haraszti told the Ambassador that he believes the
real motivation behind both attacks on Khalil is linked to
his reporting on Baku's Olive Garden. Haraszti noted that the
original February 22 attack on Khalil occurred after the
journalist had stumbled upon the unauthorized destruction of
trees and photographed two of the men involved in the
incident - one of whom is known to be a Ministry of National
Security official. Haraszti said that credible sources have
informed him that there is a dispute between the Ministers of
National Security and Internal Affairs over the development
of the still state-owned Olive Garden. Haraszti believes
that the attacks on Khalil - like all other criminal court
cases and physical attacks against journalists - are linked
to journalists' efforts to conduct investigative reporting on
corruption. He added that the jailed journalists had focused
their reporting on the First Family and their immediate
entourage, an apparent redline for investigative reporting.
Haraszti believes the number of journalists facing
retaliation for their investigative reporting will only grow,
as the GOAJ fears the impact of reporting on corruption and
other "moral issues" in the run-up to the October
presidential election.

THE UNFORTUNATE TREND
--------------


8. (SBU) In his briefing for OSCE member states, Haraszti
noted that the Khalil case is part of an "unfortunate trend"
of pressure against journalists. He noted that, until the
December 2007 presidential pardon of five journalists
imprisoned on criminal libel charges (ref b),Azerbaijan had
been the OSCE member state with the highest number of
imprisoned journalists. Following the pardon, Azerbaijan now
leads the OSCE member states with the highest number
journalists imprisoned on charges unrelated to their work,
according to Haraszti. Haraszti believes these three
journalists - Eynulla Fatullayev, Ganimat Zahid, and Mirza
Zakit - are imprisoned on "fake charges" and face
"disproportionate sentencing." He also noted that the GOAJ
has done little to investigate the 2005 murder of journalist
Elmar Huseynov, pinning responsibility for the crime on
"those who want to discredit Azerbaijan."

GOAJ CLAIMS DE FACTO MORATORIUM
--------------


9. (C) In meetings with Foreign Minister Mammadyarov and
Presidential Chief of Staff Ramiz Mehdiyev, Haraszti said he
called upon the GOAJ to implement a real moratorium on
criminal cases against journalists and to honor its
international commitments with respect to media freedom.
Haraszti said Mehdiyev argued that the GOAJ had in fact
implemented a de facto moratorium on criminal libel cases but
could not stop law enforcement authorities from investigating
other criminal cases. Haraszti dismissed Mehdiyev's
arguments, noting that law enforcement authorities in
post-Communist countries "have been given the task to
fabricate stories." Haraszti said he told Mehdiyev that he
is convinced that Azerbaijan's three jailed journalists - and
particularly the Zahid brothers - face "fabricated stories"
in retaliation for their investigative journalism. Haraszti
pointedly noted that he hoped "this is not state policy," to
which Mehdiyev responded that it is not state policy and
there is a "personal story" behind each case. Haraszti said
he urged the GOAJ to send a "clear signal" that journalists
will not be prosecuted for their work.

CALL TO ACTION
--------------


10. (C) Haraszti called upon OSCE member states to remain
engaged in their efforts to promote media freedom in
Azerbaijan. He asked member states to continue to call on
the GOAJ to implement a real moratorium on criminal cases
against journalists and to comply with its international
media freedom commitments. In his private meeting with the
Ambassador, he added that he hopes OSCE member states will
pick up his public call for the law enforcement authorities
to "stop fabricating stories against perceived enemies of the
government." He also urged OSCE member states to continue
their media training efforts, noting that he had traveled to
Baku, in part, to present a book on media self-regulation.

COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) Haraszti already is facing a backlash of criticism
for his unusually blunt public remarks. Lider TV (believed
to be closely affiliated with the Ministry of National
Security) slammed Haraszti's April 9 statements as
"interference in Azerbaijan's internal affairs." Haraszti
believes only the President can order the law enforcement
authorities to stop the pressure and "fabricated" criminal
cases against journalists, a point with which we agree.
However, the GOAJ's increasing and explicit reluctance to be
seen as taking measures in response to western pressure will
complicate the task. Senior GOAJ officials do not seem to
appreciate the harm that Azerbaijan's increasingly poor media
environment is wreaking both on Azerbaijan's international
reputation and its ability to improve relations with key
partners. We will continue to seek ways to impress the
message on our GOAJ interlocutors, and urge Washington
interlocutors to use every occasion to pres the point home
with GOAJ colleagues as well.
DERSE