Samir Sadagatoglu and Rafik Tagi - Journalists Jailed for 'Insulting' Islam

"There are no offensive words addressed to the Prophet. ... On the other hand, we do not live in a religious state."

-- Writer Rafik Tagi, quoted on Azeri Web site Day

"A person can't be condemned for their opinions."

-- Senet editor Samir Sadagatoglu

"It was announced during sentencing that ... the article contained ideas charged with hatred for Islam and the Prophet Mohammad and these actions of the paper were directed towards inciting religious hatred and enmity."

-- Court spokesman, after the guilty verdicts were announced

"If he had been an unbeliever (Kafir), he is considered as someone who has insulted the Prophet and in any case, given his confessions, it is necessary for every individual who has an access to him to kill him. The person in charge of the said newspaper, who published such thoughts and beliefs consciously and knowingly, should be dealt with in the same manner. We pray to Almighty Allah to grant Muslims and Islam protection from the evils of their enemies."

-- Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Muhammad Fazel Lankarani

"While it is understandable that some members of the public may have been shocked by the article’s content and tone, the imposition of prison sentences and fatwas is outrageous. It should be remembered that these are not criminals but two journalists who were just expressing their views.”

-- Reporters Without Borders

Samir Sadagatoglu and Rafik Tagi were held in pre-trial detention and convicted under Azerbaijan's Article 283 of the Criminal Code, which deals with incitement of national, ethnic, or religious enmity. They faced sentences of between three and five years in prison. The pair intended to appeal.

The European Union strongly disagreed that the "Europe and Us" piece was criminal. In fact, its representatives had met with the Azeri government in April 2007 and discussed media freedom. On May 7, 2007, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti released a statement saying, "Only actual incitement to violent ethnic or religious hatred should be criminalized."

The same week that Sadagatoglu and Tagi were sentenceed, the Committee to Protect Journalists designated Azerbaijan as one of the top 10 countries where press freedom had deteriorated. Reporters Without Borders had also recently named Azeri President Ilham Aliyev as a "predator of press freedom," prompting the country to state that it would no longer cooperate with the press-freedom watchdog group.

A few weeks after the Senet journalists were convicted, Reporters Without Borders announced that a new crackdown on media was taking place within Azerbaijan:

"The offices of two opposition newspapers, the Russian-language Realny Azerbaijan and the Azeri-language Gundalik Azerbaijan, were shut down by the ministry of emergency situations on 20 May, officially because of security problems with the electrical system and building-evacuation procedure. But Uzeyir Jafarov, editor of Realny Azebaijan, said it was really because of what the papers had printed. Their offices were searched and computers seized.

Jafarov, who was beaten up in April after attending a controversial trial, said today it was 'impossible to live and work' in Azerbaijan. He said he and five other journalists would try to make democratic countries aware of what was going on by applying for political asylum in Austria, Canada, Finland and Norway.

The founder of the two papers, Eynulla Fatullayev, was imprisoned in Bayil after being sentenced on 20 April to two and a half years for supposed libel. He may now be convicted of 'incitement to terrorism' under article 214 of the criminal code, though his lawyer said he had not yet been interrogated about this. His family received an anonymous phone call on 17 May warning that he would be killed if he continued to take the same positions after he was released.

Two journalists of the daily Mukhalifat, Rovshan Karbili and Yashar Agazade, were also each sentenced to two and half years in prison on 20 May for an article accusing members of President Aliev’s family of corruption."

In addition, Reporters Without Borders stated in its 2006 annual report:

"The country’s press law is still way below European standards and journalists face up to three years in prison for defamation (article 147.2 of the criminal code) and up to six for 'insulting the reputation and dignity' of the president (article 148)."