Newspaper “Azadlig” made a statement due to continuing attacks on its website.  The statement noted that over the past two years the site of the newspaper azadliq.az was broken several times, and they had to create a new one – azadliq.info. The current site has been created in the beginning of this year, but it also was subjected to constant attacks. 

Authors of the statement believe that the cause for attacks is critical publications in the newspaper about the internal and external policies of the government.  The attack on the websites is a political order and the activity of secret services. Responsibility for this lies on the authorities, says the statement.

As a result of the attack on September 5 at 22:00 the site has been completely blocked. Currently measures are being taken to restore the site. 

The president of state likes to repeat before the international community that the Internet is free in Azerbaijan. However, the current situation clearly indicates that these are mere words. 

Source: Contact.az

Read More »Azerbaijan: Hacker attack on the site of “Azadlig” newspaper

A source close to Shahrvand-e Emrooz (Today’s Citizen) Weekly told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that on 5 September 2011 the publication was banned. According to a letter the publication’s management received, the reason for the ban is cited as Article 6 of the Iranian Press Law.

The source told the Campaign that “apparently publishing an image on the cover of the weekly was the reason for its ban.”  According to the source, in the referenced issue, there is a collage containing a picture of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the cover. According to one of the items in Article 6 of the Press Law, “publishing libel against officials, institutions, organizations and individuals in the country or insulting legal or real persons who are lawfully respected, even by means of pictures or caricatures,” is not permitted.

At this moment no further details are available for other reasons why the Press Oversight Committee banned this publication.

Source: Iran Human Rights

Read More »Iran: Reformist Weekly Banned for Publishing Image of Ahmadinejad

According to nongovernmental organization Human Rights Center, journalist of Resonance newspaper Mari Otarashvili’s notebook was inspected at Akhalgori Georgian police checkpoint.

“One of the police officers asked me what I had in my bag, I didn’t hide the fact I had a notebook in there. They asked me to turn it on and show everything inside. I protested against it initially, but then I agreed. I got off the minivan and entered the police booth together with them. I turned the notebook on; I have files like “Law on Occupied Territories” and “Strategy” (which is actually Strategy on Occupied Territories) on my desktop.”

“These are the materials that I often need when writing articles. The policemen were especially interested in the file titled “Strategy”, they told me to open it. I opened it and at the same time explained that this was a file copied from the website of Ministry of Reintegration. They read the “Strategy” with great interest and then asked me to show them the photos that I kept in my notebook. I initially refused as those were my private photos and photos that I used for my articles. But eventually I decided to show them those pics. They found the photo of Deputy Administrator of Ossetian separatists Merab Chigoev among the photos. They asked me a lot of questions about it.”.

Read More »Resonance Journalist’s Notebook Inspected at Akhalgori Georgian Police Checkpoint

Iran’s press watchdog has slapped a two-month ban on a top reformist daily, Rouzegar (Times), for anti-regime “propaganda” and publishing “state secrets,” the Tehran prosecutor’s office said on Monday.

“Rouzegar newspaper has been banned for two months” starting the same day, ISNA news agency quoted the prosecutor’s office as saying.

“The newspaper has been banned on charges of propaganda against the regime and publishing state secrets,” it added, without elaborating.

Rouzegar first appeared on newsstands on February 3, 2010 to join a half-dozen reformist newspapers which have struggled to survive anti-media repression in the Islamic republic.

The paper, along with the once-banned Etemad (Confidence) daily, enabled the reformists to launch a debate on whether to participate in the upcoming parliamentary election of March 2012.

Reformist newspapers flourished during President Mohammad Khatami’s 1997-2005 presidency, but the country’s press watchdog has since closed most titles down.

Dozens of journalists working for reformist publications have also been jailed following the government’s crackdown on mass street protests which followed the disputed June 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Read More »Iran reformist daily banned for two months: report

An RFE/RL correspondent has been deported from the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhijevan through Iran after investigating the death of a man reportedly accused of spying for Tehran, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports.

Yafez Hasanov traveled to Nakhijevan on August 30 to interview family members of Turac Zeynalov, who was found dead at the territory’s Ministry of National Security after being summoned there last week. Zeynalov’s family said he was accused of “working for Iran.”

Hasanov told RFE/RL that three men in a vehicle commonly used by state security agents stopped him on the street on August 31 and told him to get in.

“When I asked who they were, they didn’t say anything. They forced me into the car, took away my passport and demanded me to switch off my mobile,” he said.
 
Hasanov said the men warned him not to report about the case since Zeynalov was “a traitor.”

He said they drove him to the border and told him to return to Baku via Iran, warning him not to return to Nakhijevan or “it would cost” him. Hasanov got a taxi in Iran and arrived in Baku on September 1.

RFE/RL is considered an illegal organization in Iran.
Read More »RFE/RL Azerbaijani Reporter Deported From Nakhijevan Via Iran

Reporters Without Borders is appalled by the way that security officials in Nakhchivan – an autonomous Azerbaijani exclave between Armenia and Iran – have been harassing journalists in an attempt to impose a news blackout on a death in detention and the disappearance of four other young people who had been summoned for questioning.

“After eliminating almost all the sources of news and information, Nakhchivan’s security services are carrying out intolerable human rights abuses with complete impunity,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The few independent journalists working there are under a great deal of pressure. The death of a citizen in detention one day after his arrest and the disappearance of four other people are test for the government of Azerbaijan, which signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is member of the Council of Europe and the OSCE.

“If the central government in Baku wants to demonstrate its sovereignty over Nakhchivan and it respect for its international obligations, it must immediately ensure that the media are able to operate there and it must rein in the regional authorities, who are resorting to increasingly violent authoritarian methods.”

Read More »RSF: “Authorities in Nakhchivan impose news blackout on detainee’s death”

Iran has pardoned 100 political prisoners in an attempt to appease the country’s opposition and reduce tensions seven months before parliamentary elections.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the release from jail of a number of prisoners recommended to him by the head of the judiciary, Sadeq Larijani, to mark Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim festival at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The mass release is the latest attempt by Iran to ease the country’s tense political atmosphere prior to parliamentary elections in March 2012. Authorities have recently given more space to opposition newspapers and have shown more restraint in dealing with criticism.

Source: The Guardian

Read More »Iran frees 100 political prisoners

According to the Ministry of Justice, freedom of expression in Turkey is not being restricted and only 4 out of 63 imprisoned journalists are behind bars because of their writings. Turan Özlu form National Channel who was arrested this week is the 64th journalist in prison.

According to a study carried out by the Ministry of Justice upon the request of the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS), 18 out of 63 journalists in prison are convicted. The TGS submitted a list with the names of a total of 72 persons to the Ministry of Justice and requested information on these people’s situations. TGS President Ercan İpekçi toldbianet that the difference in numbers was corrected after a comparison of data.

The Ministry announced that the argument saying “press freedom in Turkey has been restricted in recent times” did not reflect the truth.

The Ministry declared, “The Turkish Journalists Union had a list of 72 names defined as detained and convicted. Three of them were not registered in any prison; six persons were released. 63 people of the list are still being imprisoned. Trials were opened against 36, 18 of whom were convicted. Investigations about 27 people are still going on. 18 of the 63 persons in prisons hold a press card; 45 people do not have a press card”.

Read More »Turkey: “Journalists not Detained because of their Writings”

In March 2010, the Armenian Parliament adopted amendments and bill on making additions to Civil, Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes on mass media activity. New provisions in the Civil Code were adopted which were preceded by heated debates among journalists and media experts mostly on size of compensation in case of law violation – from 500.000 AMD (about $1.250) to 2 million AMD (about $5.000).

Since the amendments were made and till today, 16 cases were initiated against Armenian media on defamation and insult. According to the head of the Information Freedom Center Shushan Doydoyan, all these cases are still in actual as they are in the process of appeals.

Though experts welcome decriminalization of defamation and insult, they are concerned with the amounts of fines which seem more as a tool to influence the media than a punishment. Besides, the low knowledge of journalism ethics and prepossession of judges have a negative impact.

The president of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Speach Ashot Meliqyan says they are working on a suggestion to decrease the amounts of fines that will be lobbied in the Parliament.

Read More »Piece of Fault: Journalists are Also to Blame in the Cases on Insult and Defamation