Azernews.Az

The US State Department has criticized the situation with human rights in Azerbaijan. It claimed in its 2009 report that the right of citizens to peacefully change their government was restricted in the October 2008 presidential election, the March 2009 referendum, and the December 2009 municipal elections. The report said the authorities allowed opposition parties to protest only far from the city center, but the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party was granted the central square to hold rallies. Throughout the year, attempts were made to protest outside the Israeli embassy in Baku, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council, parliament and other buildings, but they were thwarted. The police dispersed the protesters using force and detained some of them, claimed the 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor on Thursday. The report says that the law provides for freedom of speech and of the press and specifically prohibits press censorship; however, the government often did not respect these rights in practice. During the year the government took actions that limited media independence, the State Department charged. "Although opposition parties continued to publish newspapers, and human rights activists were mostly able to conduct their work without fear of reprisal, the government penalized persons who criticized government officials or practices in some cases." A State Media Support Fund established to assist newspapers in 2008 announced the first cash grants for 55 media outlets on September 1. "While the fund provided grants to both opposition and pro-government newspapers, most commentators characterized the program as an attempt to constrain further an already tame press with financial subsidies," the report alleged. It also maintained that a number of journalists who criticized government officials were subjected to harassment, threats, and acts of physical violence that appeared to be connected to their criticism. A number of opposition and independent media outlets operated during the year. The print media expressed a wide variety of views on government policies, although objective, professional reporting was rare. However, broadcast media almost exclusively adhered to a pro-government line in their news coverage, according to the report. The State Department noted that although the government released some journalists, several remained imprisoned or were jailed during the year on criminal convictions for libel and other charges "supposedly unrelated to their work". International and local commentators believed that the government targeted the journalists due to their criticism of government figures and policies. The report suggested that electronic media "were generally more susceptible to pressure due to their reliance on government-provided broadcast licenses" and that such outlets were less critical of the government than opposition and independent print outlets. Torture of persons in police and military custody resulted in at least four deaths, the report said, referring to NGOs’ estimates. Prison conditions were generally harsh and life threatening, it said. Referring to the consequences of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, the report said ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia's support, continued to control most of the Upper Garabagh region of the country and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. The government did not exercise any control over developments in those territories. During the year shootings along the militarized line of contact separating the sides as a result of the Garabagh conflict resulted in numerous casualties on both sides. The Foreign Ministry reported two civilian casualties along the line of contact. There were reports of disappearances in connection with the Garabagh conflict. The government reported 4,133 persons missing as the result of conflict during the year. The report also alleged that the government imposed restrictions on the activities of some unregistered Muslim and Christian groups. Cases of violence against women were also reported.