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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Azerbaijani journalist victim of vicious smear campaign |
| 2008-04-13 |
| An Azerbaijani journalist who was seriously injured in a knife attack says prosecutors investigating the assault have launched a smear campaign against him. The developments come amid growing criticism of BakuÂ’s press-freedom record and concerns the countryÂ’s October 2008 presidential elections will see the muzzling of all nonstate media. Aqil Xalil, a 25-year-old correspondent with Azadliq, AzerbaijanÂ’s largest opposition daily, was hospitalized in March after being stabbed in the chest. Azadliq editors say the stabbing -- the second time Xalil had been attacked in less a month -- was tied to his work investigating corruption in major land deals in Baku. Prosecutors opened an investigation into the stabbing after XalilÂ’s case raised an outcry from Western officials and press-protection groups. But instead of tracking down the people responsible for the attack, Xalil tells RFE/RLÂ’s Azerbaijani Service, investigators have focused their efforts on blackmailing him into offering a false confession. "They gave me three options," Xalil says. "I could say that I was stabbed by one of my colleagues, or I could say that I stabbed myself. Otherwise, they said they would produce a video saying that I had been attacked by a man who was in a homosexual relationship with me, and then air it on state TV. So they said if I didnÂ’t want to be embarrassed, I would have to choose from one of these options. I was shocked." Xalil alleges prosecutors made the threats after forcing him to leave his parentsÂ’ home in the Kurdamir region, where he was still recovering from his knife wound, and report for questioning in Baku on April 3. What ensued, says Xalil and his lawyer, was a daylong interrogation which included physical and psychological coercion and ran until 2 a.m. During that time, Xalil says, an ethnic-Russian man was brought into the room with two men acting as witnesses. Prosecutors said the man, identified as Sergei Strekalin, claimed to be XalilÂ’s homosexual lover, and confessed to having stabbed the journalist in a jealous rage. Xalil adamantly denies the allegations, and says he had never met Strekalin. Nevertheless, footage of the two men in the prosecutorÂ’s office was later presented as video evidence of the menÂ’s illicit relationship -- and broadcast repeatedly on all state-run television channels. Despite purporting to identify Strekalin as XalilÂ’s attacker, the true target of the video, which has headlined television news programs since April 7, appears to be Xalil himself. Many of StrekalinÂ’s claims about his friendship with Xalil appear to be false. He alleges the two men met in the autumn of 2005; at that time, however, Xalil had been enlisted for military service and was not living in Baku. Strekalin speaks of offering cigarettes to Xalil, who does not smoke. Moreover, Strekalin speaks no Azeri, while Xalil speaks no Russian. The video also includes "testimony" from two additional men who claim to have had sexual relations with Xalil. Although the footage is peppered with images of the journalist and references to Azadliq, no mention is made of XalilÂ’s investigative reporting or the paperÂ’s allegations that the attack was tied to his work. The video has caused a sensation in Azerbaijan, a traditional Muslim country where homosexuality is considered a taboo and deeply shameful subject. XalilÂ’s lawyer, Elcin Sadigov, has complained that Azerbaijani law prohibits the public release of evidence in an unsolved case, and says he will press charges against the Prosecutor-GeneralÂ’s Office for what he calls a blatant violation of privacy. Much more at link. |
| Posted by:ryuge |