[governance] news from Baku

[Narine Khachatryan]

Dear all,

Recently the Azerbaijani parliament restricted the public access to
information about the registration, ownership structure and shareholders of
Azerbaijani corporations. Justification is to protect the privacy of Azeri
president and his family.  Interesting. Henceforth, the general public
would be denied such information, since it “contradicts the national
interests of Azerbaijan".

Azerbaijan: Parliament Throws Veil of Secrecy over Business Sector

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65534
June 13, 2012 - 12:00pm, by Shahin
Abbasov<http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/1358>


   - Azerbaijan <http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/azerbaijan>
   - EurasiaNet's Weekly Digest<http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3279>

   - Azeri Economy <http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3864>
   - Azeri Politics <http://www.eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3670>

Recent legislative efforts in Azerbaijan to protect the privacy of
President Ilham Aliyev and his family are coming at the expense of
investors, both foreign and domestic.

The Azerbaijani parliament voted June 12 to restrict public access to
information about the registration, ownership structure and shareholders of
Azerbaijani corporations. In addition, legislators granted President Aliyev
and his wife, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, lifetime immunity from criminal
prosecution.

The immunity provision for the Aliyevs was not unexpected: the proposal had
been under consideration for a year. But the corporate secrecy amendment
was added to parliament’s agenda only after the conclusion of the May
22-26 Eurovision
Song Contest <http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65459>.

The pop-music festival, which brought unprecedented international attention
to Azerbaijan, was preceded by a series of articles by RFE/RL investigative
journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who highlighted alleged conflicts of
interest involving mining rights granted to a gold-mining
company<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65357>owned
by President Aliyev’s two daughters, Leyla and Arzu, and Eurovision
construction work <http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65389>by a company linked
to the two Aliyevas and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, the head of
Eurovision’s organizing committee. [Editor’s Note: Islamyilova also
contributes to EurasiaNet].

By law, officials’ relatives may own businesses, but members of parliament
– the First Lady sits in the legislature for the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan
Party – cannot.

In public statements, government officials have asserted that such
investigative coverage violated the presidential family’s right to
privacy<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62572>.
The articles followed earlier pieces that examined the Aliyeva daughters’
investments in telecommunications, airport operations and banking.

Under the terms of the secrecy amendment, obtaining information about such
investments now could prove more difficult. The government will release
information about the registrations of for-profit companies only upon
request by a court, law-enforcement agency or Central Bank monitors
investigating suspected money-laundering or the financing of terrorist
groups.

Journalists and the general public would be denied such information if its
distribution “contradicts the national interests of Azerbaijan in
political, economic and monetary policy, the defense of public order, the
health and moral values of the people and harms the commercial and other
interests of individuals.”

In addition, corporate records will be provided only if the petitioner has
the consent of those individuals named in the data.

Information about registered Azerbaijani companies’ ownership and
shareholders previously had been publicly available on the Ministry of
Taxes’ website. The ministry was required to provide registry details to
citizens within a week of receipt of a written request.

All but four of the 103 members of parliament present voted in favor of the
restrictions. Another two MPs did not vote; First Lady Aliyeva was not
present.

President Aliyev is expected to sign the secrecy and immunity amendments
into law this week.

Government officials have not commented on the amendments, but one senior
Yeni Azerbaijani Party MP who backed the new restrictions claimed the
measure does not limit Azerbaijanis’ right to information. In June 6
comments to the Azeri-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,
Ali Huseynly, chair of the parliament’s Committee on Legal Policy and State
Building, claimed that the amendment “clarifies the frameworks for the
right to receive information.” The lack of such “frameworks” often leads to
“violations,” Huseynly added.

Parliamentarian Fazail Agamaly, a member of the pro-government Ana Vatan
(Motherland) Party, asserted that “[j]ournalists should be satisfied with
the information about a company provided by its owner.”

“Otherwise, the release of some information could create financial problems
for businesses,” Agamaly reasoned.

Civil society and media-rights watchdogs counter that the secrecy
amendment, indeed, is designed to prevent problems – namely, for Aliyev’s
friends and family members.

Lawyer Intigam Aliyev [no relation to the presidential family], director of
the Legal Education Society, a Baku non-governmental organization that
monitors legislation implementation, asserted the amendment is “a response
of corrupt authorities to a number of articles in local and foreign media
about the large business assets of the ruling family in Azerbaijan and
oligarchs.”

Opposition MP Igbal Aghazade, a member of the Umid (Hope) Party, who voted
against the amendment, said the measure only “serves the idea of keeping
information about the commercial interests of a group of high-ranking
government officials a secret.”

Restricting the availability of company data from the public can harm the
country’s ability to fight corruption, noted Media Rights Institute
Director Rashid Hajily. In 2011, Azerbaijan ranked 143rd out of 183
countries in a corruption index compiled by the international watchdog
group Transparency International.

"Citizens will be deprived of public [oversight] over officials’ links with
businesses," Hajily said. "It creates a strong foundation for the
proliferation of conflicts of interest.”

Meanwhile, activists who tried to
highligh<http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65388>t
Azerbaijan’s spotty civil-rights record during the Eurovision contest say
that they will fight back against the “business secrets” amendment. “We
will campaign both locally and internationally, will demand in public
debates the annulment of this legislation, will raise the issue at related
international conferences and in interviews with foreign media,” pledged
Rasul Jafarov, head of the Human Rights Club, a Baku-based non-governmental
organization.
Editor's note:
 Shahin Abbasov is a freelance reporter based in Baku.

On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 1:53 PM, Jean-Louis FULLSACK
<jlfullsack at orange.fr>wrote:

> Dear members of the list
>
>
>
> latest news from Baku published by IPS
>
>
>
> Jean-Louis Fullsack
>
>
> After the Curtain Call, a Crackdown Begins
> By Shahla Sultanova <http://www.ipsnews.net/author/shahla-sultanova/> Republish
> |
>
> BAKU, Jun 19 2012 (IPS) - As the attention of the world faded away from
> Azerbaijan after the recent Eurovision song contest, police began targeting
> some young activists and a journalist involved in protests here last month.
>
> The Eurovision song contest was as much a moment of enjoyment for music
> lovers as it was a fierce contest between the Azerbaijani government and
> its opponents to highlight the ‘reality’ of a politically turbulent
> country; with the former presenting a respectable image to the West, and
> the latter struggling to expose human rights violations and government
> suppression of basic civil liberties.
>
> More than ten protest rallies were organised on the eve of the contest.
>
> Human rights defenders and activists had anticipated a post-Eurovision
> crackdown, when the spotlight had turned away from the country and the
> government would be free to punish those who had dared to educate the world
> about the grave situation on the ground in Azerbaijan.
>
> On Jun. 6, the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), a media
> rights watchdog, was notified by the Sabail District Police Office that a
> photo journalist named Mehman Huseynov, an IRFS member, had allegedly
> insulted police officers during a protest on May 21.
>
> The district police office has now opened a criminal case against Huseynov
> under Article 221.2.2 of the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijan Republic.  If
> found guilty, Huseynov will face five years in prison.
>
> Huseynov (23), said the accusation is related to his work, which for many
> years has entailed photographing events that depict government wrongdoings
> and disseminating them via social media.
>
> Several months prior to Eurovision, Huseynov actively joined the Sing for
> Democracy Campaign.
>
> “I was media coordinator within the campaign. My photos and videos were
> shared in international media.  Of course, they showed the reality of
> Azerbaijan, (which) is unfortunately not very positive. That is why I am a
> target now,” he told IPS.
>
> Over 30 human rights organisations joined Sing for Democracy in an effort
> to pressure organisers of the contest to demand greater democracy in
> Azerbaijan.
>
> The campaign called for the release of political prisoners, freedom of
> expression and assembly, protection of property rights and the independence
> of courts.
>
> IRFS head Emin Huseynov, Mehman Huseynov’s older brother, links the
> accusation against the latter with his profession. “It is the start of the
> post-Eurovision crackdown. It is revenge against the IRFS for actively
> informing foreign journalists and international media on the eve of
> Eurovision about many harassment cases in Azerbaijan. Besides, during seven
> years of work, we investigated many cases of pressure on journalists. Now,
> they want to punish us.”
>
> Before the song contest, Leyla Yunus, director of the Institute of Peace
> and Democracy, had often warned of a serious backlash after the
> Eurovision-fuelled tourist season died down. She believes Mehman Huseynov
> is the first victim of that campaign.
>
> “Mehman’s work has been shared and discussed recently. Besides, he is
> working for IRFS, which is critical of the government. By arresting him
> they want to (blacklist) a good photo journalist and put pressure on his
> brother Emin.”
>
> Various other activists were also brought into police stations this week.
>
> Beyim Hasanli, a member of the opposition Popular Front Party’s Youth
> Committee was called in to the Sebayil district police station on Jun. 9.
>
> She was asked how she got information about the May 21 protest action and
> why she attended it. Hasanli was also asked if she ever noticed a media
> representative being rude to the police.
>  Related IPS Articles
>
>    - Sex and Censorship in Azerbaijan<http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/05/sex-and-censorship-in-azerbaijan/>
>    - Arab Spring at Azerbaijan’s Door<http://ipsnews.net/2011/04/arab-spring-at-azerbaijanrsquos-door>
>    - Azerbaijan and Israel: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend<http://ipsnews.net/2012/02/azerbaijan-and-israel-the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend>
>
>  “After that they showed me a video in which I was trying to help a woman
> dragged by police. There were many journalists, including Mehman, who tried
> to film it but police would not let them do so. It also showed Mehman
> (swearing) when he was not allowed to film.”
>
> After that Hasanli was asked to write a report on what she saw on video.
>
> A week ago, her father was called in to the Absheron district Main Police
> Office and asked to sign a statement promising to be responsible for his
> daughter’s activities.
>
> Hasanli claims all this was done to intimidate and discourage her from
> being an activist.
>
> Natig Adilov, a journalist with the opposition Azadlig newspaper and
> activist with the Popular Front Party, was called in to the Sabirabad
> police station on Jun. 13, where he was “advised” to get involved in better
> activities than participating in protest rallies.
>
> “They do it to scare people so that they stop their public activity. For
> autocratic regimes like this, intimidation is very important to manage
> their (stronghold). It is also related to me being very active during
> Eurovision,” said Adilov.
>
> Ehsan Zahidov, spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said the
> recent slew of interrogations against activists and journalists has nothing
> to do with their activity during the Eurovision song contest or their
> political background but pertained to them violating “rules”.
>
> “To advise people (on how to behave) is part of the job of police
> officers. They do not care about the political activity of citizens. Natig
> Adilov was just advised not to violate public order. That is it,” he told
> IPS.
>
> For Arzu Abdullayeva, human rights defender and co-chair of the Helsinki
> Citizens Assembly, recent pressure on journalists is not limited to
> Eurovision activity.
>
> “Activists have always been a threat to the Azerbaijani government. By
> (putting) pressure on activists, journalists, by arresting them, the
> government (lets potential dissidents) know that they will have the same
> future.”
>
> Human rights organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights
> Watch condemned the accusation against Huseynov.
>
> The authorities should “drop the bogus charges against Huseynov and ensure
> that he can exercise his right to freedom of expression”, Human Rights
> Watch said in its recent report.
>
> Amnesty International’s statement mentions that Huseynov’s arrest comes
> amid a worrying rise in police harassment of young activists who
> participated in protests around Eurovision.
>
> According to Max Tucker, Amnesty International’s Azerbaijan campaigner,
> Mehman’s arrest signals the start of the widely predicted government
> crackdown on those they consider responsible for negative publicity during
> Eurovision.
>
> (END)
>
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
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Media Education Center
Yerevan, Armenia

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