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American non-governmental organization IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board) published the new annual Media Sustainability Index on Azerbaijan, according to which, the media situation in that country has significantly worsened. 

According to the report, 2015 was another sad year for the media in Azerbaijan. The human rights situation did not improvedespite the country hosting the first-ever European Games in June, which increased international mediaattention on Azerbaijan.Moreover, national currency double devaluationhurt the financial stability of private media.

It is noted that in October 2015, presidentIlhamAliyev fired Minister of NationalSecurity EldarMahmudov.His department was involved in the detentions of innocent journalists and political activists. It was expected that after Mahmudov’s arrest, many innocents would be released, however, it did not happen. 

It is reminded that journalists Khadija Ismayilova, SeymurHazi, and Rauf Mirgadyrov were imprisoned on trumped-up charges. RasimAliyev, a photo reporter and acting director of Institute forReporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) died in August as a result of being severely beaten. He was beaten by several people for criticizing a famous Azerbaijani soccer player.

Azerbaijan remained in 2015 a country where significantproblems for freedom of speech exist. Those who workfor independent and opposition media feel this even moreintensively. It is noted that there have been cases of firing students from academic institutions forcriticizing the president on their social media accounts.According to one of them,they got off easy, as others get imprisoned orsuffer other administrative penalties.

It is further emphasized that there have been legislative amendments in the country, which significantly limited the independence of the media. Journalists and other media professionals in Azerbaijan arehardly immune from violence. For example, on 26January, IRFS deputy director GunayIsmayilovawas attacked, however, thepolice have not begun any reasonable investigation aboutthe incident.

It is also reminded that IRFS director EminHuseynovhad to escape from Azerbaijan during the European Games because of the authorities'pressure. His brother MehmanHuseynov, a well-knownphotojournalist and blogger, has been prevented fromleaving the country since June 2013 and his nationalidentification card and international travel documents havebeen taken away from him by the authorities in connectionwith a politically motivated criminal case against him.

ParvizHasimli, a co-founder of Moderator.az and anemployee of Bizimyol newspaper,was jailed for seven yearson trumped-up charges. His lawyer claims that he was pressedto give testimony against one of the ruling clans, but he refused.

IREX notes that the state funds only a few newspapers and televisionstations with funds allocated from the state budget.ITV,nominally considered “public” is also funded by the state.While none of these media belong de jure to the state, theynonetheless represent the state’s interests and point ofview.

Besides, Azerbaijani media does not welcomethe republication of international articles critical of the Azerbaijan political systemand containing negative information about the country in general.

“Given the political situation and limited space for criticaljournalism, every year there are fewer and fewer mediaoutlets that actually conduct proper news reporting withbalance and fact checking. The problems with professionaljournalism in Azerbaijan in 2015 remained to be lack ofcore editorial values (mission-vision-strategy), an absenceof editorial independence, self-censorship, and poor ethics,” the IREX report reads.

Most of the news that goeson television or online are general stories and are oftenmediocre. Production teams fail to consult a wide variety ofsources especially if the story touches on anything relatedto the government, ruling elites, or any project they areinvolved with.

Crimes against journalists, harassment of mediaprofessionals while conducting their work, and frequentcases of journalists being detained and imprisonedall combine to discourage journalists from puttingprofessionalism first.According to several Azerbaijani media representatives, journalists in that authoritarian country do not carry out their professional activities properly for their own security.

Moreover, it is highlighted that journalists in Azerbaijan especially fail to meet ethical standards when itcomes to defamation and libel.Instances are frequent andconsequence-free as long as the target of the defamation isnot a government official, one of their family members, oranother well-connected person.Oligarchic media is used to blackmail or attack rivals. The worst cases of ethics violationstake place when journalists report on the Karabakh conflict.

It is also noted that Azerbaijani media have a hostile attitude towards the Western media. Thisview was strengthened by the president’s chief of staff,RamizMehdiyev, who in 2014 published a 60-page manifestoimplying the United States seeks to foment a popularoverthrow of President IlhamAliyev.However, many experts assume his statement was only a pretext for seriously diminishingthe independent media activities.

Most of the key events taking place in the country arecovered with widespread self-censorship. For example, in December 2015 a firebroke out on an offshore oil platform Gunashliowned and operatedby the state-owned oil company SOCAR.Tenoilworkerswerekilledand 20 wentmissing.The local mainstreammedia aired news about the tragedy only after internationalmedia started to do so.In one talk show on ANS TV, aguest said that“the local media had the correct informationas the fire was happening, however they were not ableto get permission from the authorities to air it.” A similarinformation blockade is observed when there are protests,especially in the provinces. The media located outside ofAzerbaijan usually have more objective coverage of what ishappening compared with local media.

“There are not many independent news sources for peopleto check one against another. In fact all television channelsare either owned by the government or managed byprivate entities with ties to the government or operatingunder specific agreements on acceptable (typicallyentertainment) content. Mainstream television and radio donot cover various political viewpoints; they are engaged inpropaganda. The news, with some exceptions, is identicalat different media outlets. A maximum of two viewpointsmight be available regarding any event. Independent newsis available online although even there it is limited,” IREX notes.

When it comes to interviews of foreigners, be it in Bakuor abroad, voices are dubbed and only positive thingscome across in the dubbed Azerbaijani language version. Oneof these charades ended in embarrassment for a localtelevision channel.During the European Games,Lider TVpresented an interview with a purported tourist, “JamesBonar” from London, who “praised Azerbaijan’s beauty andcuisine.” However, when original footage of the interviewwas viewed, it turned out the interviewee was speaking in broken English, which proved that he was not a British tourist. 

The Azerbaijani authorities try to prevent leading international media frompublishing articles critical of the Azerbaijan political systemand its poor economy.

According to the investigation, the country’s authorities spent money “to buy” foreignjournalists for publishing positive articlesabout Azerbaijan in international—primarily WesternEuropean, South American, and Israeli—media.Those whocould not be boughtare denied entry visas to Azerbaijan.

Most of the news agenciesin the country are controlled by thegovernment.Report News Agency was launched in 2015and is believed to be funded by state-owned oil companySOCAR.TrendNews Agency, whose ownership changed several years ago,has started to repeat the style similar to that of the state-owned Azertag. The director of Trend claimed to be a former secret service officer.

Azeri-Press Agency (APA) tries to present unbiased news,yet when it comes to key issues it defends the government.That company’s directorpublicly denies accusations that Gilan Holding, owned by the son of Minister of Emergency SituationsKamaladdinHeydarov,isfinancing her organization.According to the report, Turan News Agency can be considered the only private,independently owned news agency in Azerbaijan.It remainsa subscription-based resource, with most of its subscribersthe Baku-based diplomatic corps or out-of-country users.

Transparency of ownership of private media is not possiblelegally.According to a law adopted in 2012, informationabout the ownership of private enterprises is consideredconfidential. This allows members of parliament and otherpublic officials who are prohibited from owning a businessto hide from public scrutiny.

It is noted that in 2005, in the early days of ITV,there were programs focused on ethnicminorities; however, these programs do not exist anymore.

With recent legislative amendments regarding foreignfunding, independent media outlets have difficulty raisingmoney or withdrawing funds, and as a result do not have the capacity to continuetheir work as independent actors.In such conditions, theyare either forced to close or suspend their work indefinitely.
Large corporations and medium-sized companies prefer toadvertise exclusively with state or pro-government media. Anecdotalinformation suggests that there is secret list of outletswhere advertisements can be placed and also a “black list”of embargoed media.

As a result, opposition papers face significant difficulty finding companiesnot be afraid to place advertisements in their newspapers.Azadliq, the country’s leading opposition newspaper, isfacing shutdown due to criminal fines and the blocking of itssales by the state-controlled print media distributor.Zerkalohad to stop altogether, especially after their lead journalistRauf Mirgadyrovwas arrestedon treason charges. ITV, Azertag, and some newspapers are funded directly fromthe state budget.

There is noindependent professional association for journalists in the country. The organizations that do exist rarely stand upfor the rights of journalists, and are connected with the government. There were attempts in 1997 and 1998 to create a tradeunion for journalists. The founding chairmanof one of these, AzerHasrat, was particularly adamant instanding up for media professionals.However, he has nowturned into a pro-government activist.The first director ofthe other attempted union, AflatunAmashov, now heads thegovernment-controlled Press Council and is a proponent of“defending statehood against the Western information war.”The Press Council, despite the high hopes when it wascreated, did not fulfill journalists’ expectations.

It is noted that he defends the positions of the Azerbaijani president’soffice, not of the journalists. He denies the existence ofany problems related to freedom of speech and freedom ofthe media in the country.

Quality academic journalism programs in Azerbaijan arebecoming less common and very restrictive.For example, entrance to oneof the best journalism faculties offered by the private KhazarUniversity ceased in 2012. Government-run Baku State University is the only remainingschool providing a degree in journalism. However, IREX emphasizes that professors at thisfaculty are notorious for their outdated teaching style andare detached from real journalism.

The non-profit organizations that once offered trainingfor journalists, such as IRFS, Media Rights Institute, and theDutch School have been forced to cease their operations dueto criminal cases opened against them by the Azerbaijaniauthorities. Journalists must travel toGeorgia or Turkey to increase their capacity in journalism.

The problems selling newspapers through kiosks continuedin 2015.Kiosks in Baku have been replaced with more“vintage” looking green ones, which look more like a smallgrocery store, with all the snacks and drinks, rather thana newspaper and magazine selling booth. IREX highlights that newspapers areclearly a secondary product there.

In addition, it is noted that Internet-provider DeltaTelecom, whose ownership is not transparent, is a monopolist in the country. It is reminded that during the government’s raid inNardaran village, Internet users in Baku experienced Internetinterruptions.Some believe that the Internet was cuton purpose in case things got out of control during thesemi-military operation.

The Internet was also interruptedfor a few days when a fire broke out at Delta Telecom’sheadquarters following the dismissal of the ministerfor communication and information technologies.For several months in2015, free calls through WhatsApp and Viber were blocked.According to reports by independent investigativejournalists, the ownership of all three mobile telephonecompanies and the only global Internet provider rests withone family high in the government.