Azerbaijan - RSF calls on World Bank to address repression of journalists investigating corruption

Cyril Muller, Vice President of Europe and Central Asia

World Bank

1818 H Street NW

Washington, DC 20433 USA

April 9, 2018

Dear Vice President Muller,

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an international non-governmental organization dedicated to defending press freedom, is writing to draw your attention to the increasing crackdown on independent journalists in Azerbaijan that is severely hindering their ability to report on corruption.

Given the World Bank’s commitment to fighting corruption, we believe this is an issue your organization must take up. Uncovering corruption and press freedom are intrinsically linked; when journalists are harassed, forced into exile, jailed, or even killed for their reporting, the resulting climate of silence and impunity allows criminal activity to thrive without opposition. If the World Bank truly intends to stand by its pledge for good governance and anti-corruption, we urge you to condition all future loans on the release of journalists who are imprisoned for reporting on corruption.

As of April 2018, RSF has counted at least 14 journalists who are in prison due to their reporting. One such case is that of Afgan Sadygov, a journalist who was arrested in November 2016 under bogus charges of “assault and battery” in connection with his work reporting on political mismanagement of funds in local Azerbaijani administrations. Sadygov’s arrest and sentencing is designed to silence him. It constitutes another demonstration of the authorities’ commitment to suppressing media freedom in the country.

In May 2016, the World Bank reaffirmed its own commitment to the fight against corruption and achieving the UN Sustainable Goals for 2030. One example is the series of projects in Azerbaijan to reform the justice system, the most recent being the Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project, which aimed to “improve access, transparency, and efficiency.” Approved in 2014, it lent 100 million USD to assist the Azerbaijani government in improving their judicial system, from programming electronic databases for court cases to the construction of new court buildings. However, with little improvement to be seen in judicial reform, the Azerbaijani government has instead focused on persecuting journalists, including those who investigate corruption allegations in connection with World Bank loans.

Hafiz Babali is a journalist who is currently in self-imposed exile after government officials threatened him and his family in retaliation for an investigative piece on corruption allegations regarding the World Bank’s Third Highway Project, nicknamed the “Golden Road.” In May 2016, Babali was arrested and brought before the Sumgayit City Court on unknown charges. After deliberation, a judge verbally told Babali and his attorney he would be convicted under Article 296, minor hooliganism, but did not give them a written record. When Babali inquired about possibly appealing the decision, his attorney informed him that he was unable to unless he had a written record of the original verdict. When searching in the electronic court database he couldn’t find any record of his case, leaving him unable to challenge the court system. Babali’s case highlights the inadequacy of the electronic court informational system, with problems ranging from dysfunctional search engine capability to un-uploaded court cases. The lack of public record for criminal cases involving journalists leaves room for government officials to freely prosecute journalists without a paper trail.

Afgan Mukhtarli, who reported on corruption in Azerbaijan for IWPR and independent news website Meydan TV, is another journalist who fled the country in fear of government retaliation for his investigations. Mukhtarli reported on high-level corruption in the Azerbaijani military and the country’s ruling Aliyev family. After leaving Azerbaijan to live in self-imposed exile in Georgia more than three years ago, Mukhtarli was abducted and forcibly returned to Azerbaijan in May. Despite a complete lack of evidence, he has been sentenced to six years in prison for smuggling, illegal border crossing and refusing to comply with police instructions, trumped up charges that are meant to disguise the fact that Mukhtarli was returned to Azerbaijan against his will. Such a move by the Azerbaijani justice system sends a chilling message to other investigative journalists living in exile abroad.

Between the years of 2012 and 2014, as Azerbaijan’s ruling elite were using billions of euros to pay off politicians and launder money for their own benefit, dozens of journalists, including investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, were being arrested and thrown in jail as political prisoners. Ismayilova’s reporting on the Aliyev family’s offshore accounts and tax evasion landed her in prison in December 2014, where she remained for more than a year before being released in May 2016. Today she lives under a strict travel ban inside Azerbaijan.

The growing number of journalists arrested for investigating corruption in Azerbaijan is a clear indication that the country’s repressive practices are incompatible with the World Bank’s commitment to eradicating corruption. This incompatibility could not be made any clearer than in the case of Hafiz Babali. We fear that the continued criminalization of journalists coupled with the actual criminal activity of Azerbaijan’s corrupt officials and a complete lack of any real separation of powers will undermine all efforts the World Bank has made to improve the country’s justice system. Thus, we call on the World Bank to acknowledge that the harassment and imprisonment of Azerbaijani journalists is a corruption issue, to urge for their immediate release, and to make all future loans to Azerbaijan conditional on the release of journalists like Afgan Sadygov and Mukhtarli, who were or would be imprisoned for investigating corruption.

We look forward to discussing this issue with you in person at your earliest convenience. We thank you in advance for your careful attention to this letter.

Sincerely,

Christophe Deloire

Secretary general

Azerbaijan is ranked 162nd out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2017 World Press Freedom Index.