
12
Dec 2019
Lvl. 1
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Alert created on: 31 Dec 2018
n° 148/2018
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani Journalist Ziya Asadli Held in Detention since September 2017
1
Journalist in detention
Source of threatState
CategoryDetention and imprisonment of journalists
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Azerbaijan’s Bilasuvar district court on 5 September 2017, sentenced Ziya Asadli, regional correspondent of the independent newspaper Azadliq, to three years in prison on criminal charges of hooliganism with the use of a weapon or an object that can be used as a weapon, and ordered his immediate arrest. On 19 April 2017, Asadli was allegedly assaulted by a local teahouse’s manager, who said he had previously warned the journalist not to visit the teahouse because he was “an opposition member,” according to media reports. Asadli said that the teahouse manager attacked him, took his phone, and broke it. In response, the journalist notified police. The teahouse's manager then filed a complaint to the local police alleging Asadli assaulted him with his phone. On 3 May 2017, Azerbaijani authorities opened a criminal case against Asadli. On June 12, 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict.
Additional Information
- CPJ Prison Census Report on Ziya Asadli's case
- News report in Kavkazsky Uzel: "Верховный суд отказал журналисту Асадли в освобождении из тюрьмы"
- News report in Kavkazsky Uzel: "Защита заявила о политическом характере преследования журналиста Асадли"
- News report in Kavkazsky Uzel: "Азербайджанский журналист сообщил о преследовании за репортаж о протестах"
- News report in Panorama: "В Азербайджане возбудили уголовное дело против журналиста за его репортаж о протестах населения против нищеты и безработицы"
Follow-ups

In her report following her visit to Azerbaijan from 8 to 12 July 2019, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights regrets that no progress has been made regarding the protection of freedom of expression and calls on the authorities to release all those detained because of the views they expressed, notably journalists.
Journalists in detention