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Dear all,<div><br></div><div>It's good to keep an eye on what happens during and after the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, in view of IGF 2012</div><div><br></div><div>Best,</div><div><br></div><div>Yrjö<br><div><div><br><div><div id="SkyDrivePlaceholder"></div><hr id="stopSpelling">Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 20:42:07 +0100<br>From: info@newssafety.org<br>To: <br>Subject: SAFETY ADVISORY: Fears of \'government clampdown\' on Azeri journalists after Eurovision Song Contest<br><br>
<title>SAFETY ADVISORY: Fears of \'government clampdown\' on Azeri journalists after Eurovision Song Contest</title>
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<div class="ecxmolecule"><table border="0" cellspacing="10" cellpadding="0" width="600"><tbody><tr><td class="ecxmainarea" width="580" valign="top"><font face="Arial, Verdana sans-serif" size="3" color="#333333"><span style="line-height:20px"><br></span></font><BR><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">The safety of Azeri journalists could deteriorate after this weekend's Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, according to local media organisations and activists.<br><br><a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.irfs.az/content/view/1100/29/lang%2ceng/" target="_blank">The Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety</a> (IRFS), based in Baku, said that local journalists could be victims of a government crackdown after the international spotlight has left the oil-rich state.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">"The main concern at this point is what will happen once the party is over,” said Celia Davies, of IRFS.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">“Local journalists and activists anticipate another government clampdown. An additional worry is the vulnerability of all those who have spoken out and shared their stories with the international press."</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">The concerns were raised after reports that Anar Garayli, an Azeri journalist working for a local news website, was detained by police officers in Baku on May 22.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">According to reports, he was wearing a <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.singfordemocracy.org/" target="_blank">Sing for Democracy</a> campaign t-shirt and carrying pamphlets about a local youth movement.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">The website www.gunxeber.com <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://gunxeber.com/?p=12030" target="_blank">reported</a> that he was detained for resisting the police and sentenced to 10 days in prison.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">His case is the latest in string of journalists allegedly targeted for being critical of government activities.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">In April, award-winning journalist Idrak Abbasov was attacked and hospitalised by security forces after filming the demolition of houses on the outskirts of Baku, <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.newssafety.org/casualty_news.php?id=488" target="_blank">according to reports</a>.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">And in March, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty investigative reporter Khadija Ismailova was the victim of a <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.newssafety.org/casualty_news.php?id=407" target="_blank">vicious blackmail attempt </a>after a video of her engaging in sexual activities with her partner appeared on a fake opposition party website.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Ismailova, who has written stories accusing President Ilham Aliyev, his family and his inner circle of corruption, believes that the film, which was recorded by a covert camera planted in her apartment, was supposed to intimidate her.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">“There are still very physical attacks [in Azerbaijan]. There is the KGB method of hidden cameras, which has happened to people as well as Khadija [Ismailova],” said Davies.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">“There are random beatings in the streets, threats, being taken into the national security and police station and being ‘given a talking to’, that kind of thing. That’s the core of it, and threats are spreading online.”</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Azeri blogger Emin Milli was <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.rferl.org/content/Azerbaijan_Bloggers_Get_TwoYear_Jail_Sentences/1874853.html" target="_blank">assaulted and severely beaten</a> in downtown Baku in 2009 after criticising the government online. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on what many human rights organisations believe were fabricated charges of hooliganism.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">“Many activists, journalists and bloggers who are outspoken in this period will be targeted after Eurovision. Shockingly, it has even started now,” he said.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">“The situation for local journalists will worsen. Anyone who is an independent journalist in Azerbaijan understands what could happen to him or her. They are under constant psychological and physical pressure.”</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">“After Eurovision there will be much less attention. Come again at the end of the year, and check on the people who gave you interviews. Are they in jail? Were their houses destroyed? Are they living on the street?”</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Azerbaijan is keen to project an image of a modern, prosperous society to visiting journalists and the international community, but critics say that corruption is rife in Aliyev’s government.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">In February, Human Rights Watch issued a <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/02/29/azerbaijan-homeowners-evicted-city-beautification" target="_blank">damning report</a> about forced evictions of home owners in Baku to make way for construction for the flashy singing competition.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">And in May, human rights groups and press freedom organisations <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/3089/en/azerbaijan:-european-broadcast-union-should-not-ignore-free-expression-ahead-of-eurovision" target="_blank">called on the European Broadcasting Union</a> (EBU), which is hosting Eurovision, to ensure greater media freedom in the country.</p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'"> </p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'"><strong><a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.newssafety.org/" target="_blank">The International News Safety Institute</a>, in collaboration with the <a style="color:#ff6600" href="http://www.irfs.az/content/view/1100/29/lang%2ceng/" target="_blank">Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety</a>, issues the following safety advisory for local journalists working in Azerbaijan.</strong></p><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Be alert to the possibility of secret cameras. There is some risk that your home, office or hotel room could be bugged. Journalists have been targeted in hotel rooms, etc. Secret cameras have taped intimate relationships which have been used for blackmail, or broadcast publicly.</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Be aware that mobile phones are not a secure means of communication. Be frugal with what you discuss on them.</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">When you go out on assignment, ensure that at least one other person knows where you are going, and when you are expected to return. Have a backup plan if things go wrong.</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Avoid situations where your personal security may be at risk.</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Consider meeting government officials with a colleague if possible, to verify the story and the interview.</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Comply with standards of professional ethics.</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Consider backing up your material as frequently as possible, and keep the backups separate to your laptop. Consider carrying extra memory cards for copies and pass them on to your colleagues for safe keeping.</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Do not give away personal details and work details on social media sites</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Call the IRFS HOTLINE (+99450 398 48 38, +99 470 398 48 38, +99405 2828797) with any security concerns.<br></li><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'"><strong>Online security</strong></p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'"><em><strong> </strong>Online security poses increasingly complex challenges – these basic precautions are based on Eric S. Johnson, ‘Online Security for Internet Media Serving Severely Censored Countries: A white paper for SIDA’s Oct 2010 “Exile Media” conference’ (updated May 2011)</em></p><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Make sure you have good anti-virus and anti-spam software</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Protect your log-in details for any online accounts (email, Facebook, etc)</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Do not lose physical possession of your computer while it is switched on (it only takes a few seconds for someone to install a rootkit or keylogger, and then your security is completely compromised)</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Back up your data as frequently as possible, and preferably in more than one place</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Ensure your office and home wifi networks are secure, and avoid using public wifi</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Use “https everywhere” (free add-on)</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Set Facebook and Twitter to use https for all access; you need to do this manually via account settings</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Set maximum security for all social media networking sites</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Do not accept everyone as “friends” on Facebook. Think about whether you really want or need them as a friend</li><li style="font-size:1.3em;line-height:18px;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'">Use Gmail rather than yahoo, hotmail, mail.ru etc; it automatically encrypts information</li><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'"> </p><p style="clear:left;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:1.3em;line-height:1.3em;color:#333333;font-family:Arial, 'Verdana sans-serif'"><strong>INSI will continue to monitor the safety of Azeri journalists after the Eurovision song contest and asks anybody with information on any incidents involving journalists to contact Rodney Pinder + 44 7734 70 92 67 rodney.pinder@newssafety.org; or Hannah Storm +44 7766 814274 hannah.storm@newssafety.org</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div>
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