August 2 2001

Your excellency,

The International League for Human Rights, an international, non-governmental human rights organization with special consultative status at the United Nations, is writing to express its deep concern by the seizure of broadcasting equipment worth 1,5 bn. Manats ($320,000) belonging to the independent television station ABA TV.

According to reliable sources, the equipment was seized by the tax authorities on 17 July 2001, while it was being transported from the headquarters of ABA TV. The act followed the announcement of the station’s temporary closure by its President, Mr Faig Zulfugarov, on the evening of the 16 July. In a later press release, Mr Zulfugarov claimed he was forced to cease operations as a result of pressure by the Azeri authorities. ABA TV has been under investigation by the tax authorities for several months and the station’s chief financial officer, Shamil Safiyev, remains in prison since his arrest on 22 May 2001 on charges of tax evasion.

There are strong reasons to believe that the seizure of ABA TV’s equipment is related to the efforts of your government to exercise greater control over the operation of ABA TV, which recently became the first station in Azerbaijan to broadcast daily half-hour licensed CNN newscasts translated into Azeri. Furthermore, confiscation of valuable equipment vital to the operation of a media outlet is never justified in the course of a tax investigation, and is an unwarranted restriction on the right to freedom of expression.
As a member of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan is obliged to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 10 of which states that "everyone has the right to freedom of expression" and restrictions to the right are justifiable only in the most extreme circumstances. Article 10 also establishes that media outlets have a right to operate and "to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority."

The League urges you to immediately intervene with the Tax Ministry to establish the reasons for the seizure of the equipment and order its immediate return to ABA TV; take immediate steps to reverse the current deterioration of the conditions of media freedom in Azerbaijan.

Thank you for your attention. We await your response.

Sincerely,

Catherine Fitzpatrick
Executive Director