OPPOSITION JOURNALIST RECEIVES SIX-YEAR PRISON

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000061 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2018 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KDEM KCOR AJ SUBJECT: OPPOSITION JOURNALIST RECEIVES SIX-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR ACCEPTING A BRIBE Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF JOAN POLASCHIK PER 1.4(B,D). ¶1. (SBU) On January 21, the Court of Grave Crimes convicted opposition Bizim Yol newspaper correspondent Mushvig Huseynov of accepting a bribe (Criminal Code article 331),and sentenced him to six years' imprisonment. In addition to the prison sentence, the court banned Huseynov from engaging in "journalistic activity" for a period of two years. Huseynov was arrested on July 24, 2007, after accepting a bribe from Rizvan Aliyev, a Ministry of Labor and Social Protection employee, allegedly in exchange for an agreement not to publish embarrassing articles about the Ministry. The incident appears to have been a set-up, as the entire exchange between Aliyev and Huseynov was videotaped and broadcast on national television. ¶2. (C) Vugar Khasiyev, Huseynov's defense attorney, told us that the trial was conducted in a biased manner. According to Khasiyev, the prosecutor was given the opportunity to present all relevant pieces of evidence, while the defense was not. In addition, the judge denied most motions raised by the defense. Khasiyev also maintains that his client did not accept the bribe, and therefore has not committed a crime. Khasiyev said that Huseynov plans to pursue his case up through the European Court of Human Rights if the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court uphold the Court of Grave Crimes' ruling. ¶3. (U) The Institute for Reporter Freedom and Safety (IRFS) publicly condemned the court's decision in Huseynov's case, calling judge Jamal Ramazanov's ruling "unfair" and accusing him of basing the verdict on a "political order." IRFS reported that the prosecution committed numerous "procedural violations and falsifications" during the trial. The organization labeled the charges against Huseynov "spurious," and concluded that Huseynov is "the victim of political provocation, as part of (a) campaign carried out by the government to damage the reputation of journalists in the eyes of the local and international community." Similarly, the Media Rights Institute publicly stated that the verdict was ungrounded, and an example of continued activity to suppress freedom of speech. The NGO also characterized Huseynov as a "victim of an operation developed with (the) participation of state officials." ¶4. (C) Turan News Agency Head Mehman Aliyev called Huseynov's imprisonment a "political farce," stating his belief that it is hypocritical for the GOAJ to jail Huseynov, but not corrupt government officials. Aliyev said that the GOAJ is branching out from its usual modus operandi of imprisoning journalists for defamation, and is now fabricating cases involving bribery, terrorism, narcotics, and hooliganism. Others in the media community have a different view. Seher newspaper Editor-In-Chief Gabil Abbasoglu, Democratic League of Journalists Head Yadigar Mammadli, and Yeni Nasil Union Head Arif Aliyev agreed that while Huseynov is guilty of accepting a bribe, they believe that the six-year prison sentence is much too harsh, likening the sentence to those given to government officials implicated in gross misappropriation of state property. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Although there have been several recent cases of journalists imprisoned for accepting bribes, Huseynov's case has garnered widespread attention because of his affiliation with a somewhat well-known opposition newspaper. While some local journalists and human rights activists have taken a harder stance on Huseynov's case, most remain focused on the length of Huseynov's prison sentence, perceived to be unduly harsh. Whether or not the July 24 incident was a set-up, Huseynov was caught on film accepting a bribe, providing a perfect example for GOAJ officials' continued claims that the media problems in Azerbaijan are a result of journalists' "unprofessional" behavior, rather than a result of intentional government pressure. We continue to actively promote training programs for Azerbaijani journalists. DERSE