Azeris facing harassment
A COURT IN Azerbaijan has sentenced Ganimat Zahidov, the editor of the opposition daily Azadlig, to four years in prison for “aggravated hooliganism” and “assault and battery” in connection with an incident last year in which he was accosted by a stranger.
He was summoned by the police three days later and has been held ever since. The man who accosted him got an 18-month sentence.
Ganimat Zahidov regards the incident as deliberate provocation in retaliation for his articles, including those accusing Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev’s wife of corruption.
Azadlig (“freedom” in Azeri) is often the target of harassment. Ganimat Zahidov’s brother Sakit, a reporter for the paper, was sentenced last year to three years in prison for possession of drugs, although prosecutors failed to prove that he possessed any.
Sakit Zahidov began a hunger strike in prison on February 3 to protest against his conditions of detention and to demand medical attention. He staged two hunger strikes last year, demanding to be transferred to a hospital for treatment.
Another Azadlig reporter, Agil Khalilov, was attacked and beaten in February.