Call for investigation into Azerbaijan journalist’s murder

Azeri president Ilham Aliyev has ordered a “swift and comprehensive“ investigation into the death of a journalist who was beaten shortly after he criticised a soccer player in a Facebook post.

Mr Aliyev is “seriously concerned“ about the attack on Rasim Aliyev and views it as a “threat to independent media“ in Azerbaijan, his political aide Ali Hasanov told state news agency Azartac.

The president said he would take personal control of the investigation, according to Azartac.

Several human rights groups on Monday called on authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation into the murder.

While officials have connected the attack to a Facebook post in which Mr Aliyev had criticised a football player, angering his relatives. But human rights watchdogs suspect his killing could be connected to a series of photos Aliyev had posted online showing police brutality and social discontent.

Rasim Aliyev (31) was beaten by several unidentified men in the capital, Baku, on Saturday and died of his injuries in the hospital the following day, police said.

Mr Aliyev, who is not related to the president, worked for a number of online publications including the Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety, which receives funding from international organisations.

The journalist told Meydan TV, a Berlin-based online broadcaster, hours before his death that he was attacked by a gang after he agreed to meet with a relative of Cavid Huseynov, a striker at the Azeri soccer club Gabala FK.

Huseynov waved a Turkish flag after an August 6th match with Cypriot team Apollon Limassol and made a hand gesture at a Greek Cypriot journalist that Aliyev described as “immoral“ on his Facebook page.

The club said it’s suspended Huseynov while the investigation goes on.

The player denied involvement in the attack in a Facebook statement. Azerbaijan, the largest oil producer in the former Soviet Union after Russia and Kazakhstan, is among the 10 most censored countries in the world, with at least eight journalists in prison on politically motivated charges, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

The Azeri government rejects the accusations.

Twelve human rights organisations, including the Sport for Rights coalition, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Index on Censorship, International Media Support and PEN American Centre, supported the appeal for a transparent investigation.

“As Rasim Aliyev’s murder shows, critical voices are at greater risk now than ever before,” Sport for Rights said in a statement.

“The international community must act now to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its human rights obligations and promote much-needed reforms in the country.”

Agencies