One year after Elmar Huseynov, the founder and editor of the opposition weekly Monitor, was killed at the entrance of his apartment building in Azerbaijan capital Baku, there has been no headway in the investigation.
"It's very disheartening that a year has passed and Elmar Huseynov's killers remain at large," Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Executive Director Ann Cooper said. "Questions are being raised about the direction of this probe, and we call on Azerbaijani authorities to aggressively pursue every lead and bring those responsible to justice."
Huseynov, 38, was gunned down on March 2, 2005 while walking up the stairwell of his apartment building on his way home from work. Seven bullets pierced his body, and he died on the spot. The attack appeared to be well-planned. A light at the entrance was damaged and several telephones in the area were disconnected at the time of the shooting. Prior to his murder, Huseynov had complained of multiple threats and was concerned about his safety.
Huseynov was a hydroelectric engineer before turning to journalism in 1995. Three years later, he started up a publishing house in Baku and founded three newspapers, Bakinski Bulvar, Bakiskie Vedomosti and Monitor, which quickly established a good reputation. Monitor had been sharply critical of the government and President Ilham Aliyev. The weekly had been forced to pay damages in several defamation lawsuits filed by public officials, and it was forced to close twice in five years.
Because of this record of critical reporting and government retaliation, colleagues and relatives suspect the killing was connected to Huseynov's work and that high-ranking government officials may have had a hand in plotting the murder. "I remain sure that someone among the authorities did order the assassination of my husband," the news website Eurasianet quoted Huseynov's widow, Rushana Huseynova, as saying.
The head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) office in Baku, Maurizio Pavesi, Thursday called on Azerbaijani authorities to take all necessary steps in order to bring those responsible for the murder of Huseynov. "Unfortunately, one year after the assassination, the case remains unresolved," said Pavesi. "We firmly believe that until the real motives of the perpetrators are identified and proven in court, public opinion cannot consider the case closed."
Participants at the International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) general meeting and conference in Brussels, last month said in a statement, "We suspect that the killing may have been ordered by high ranking officials who in fact do nothing to disclose the people who ordered and executed this murder. Azerbaijan, which is frequently on the lists of international organizations as one of the worst countries in the world for press freedom, should act in accordance with its obligations taken before the Council of Europe, OSCE, the United Nationa and other international bodies, to ensure the right of the people to freedom of expression, including the freedom to criticise."
Investigators have identified Georgian citizens as suspects in the killing but have provided no details on the alleged involvement of the men. Authorities in Georgia have refused extradition requests, citing a lack of evidence.
President Aliyev has called the case a "provocation against the Azerbaijani state" and an "act of terrorism." On April 7, 2005, investigators said they had identified several suspects in Huseynov's murder – all Georgian citizens and ethnic Azerbaijanis – but described no motive or evidence linking them to the murder.
The case was transferred the next day from the prosecutor general's office, which normally handles murder probes, to the Ministry of National Security (MNB), where it was reclassified from "premeditated murder" to an "act of terrorism." Authorities said the killing was meant to destabilise the country but did not explain further.
In May 2005, MNB identified two Georgian citizens by name – Tair Hubanov and Teymuraz Aliyev – as being wanted in the killing. The Georgian government has refused to extradite the men until Azerbaijani authorities provide substantial evidence linking them to Huseynov's murder, according to local and international press reports.
In July 2005, Azerbaijani authorities tried, sentenced, and imprisoned for two years Turgai Bayramov, an Azebaijani citizen and a cousin of one of the suspects. Bayramov was imprisoned for allegedly falsifying documents to buy mobile phones for the suspects, the Turan news agency reported.
Investigators have reported no developments in the case since then. An MNB spokesman told journalists Thursday that the suspects in Huseynov's killing are being sought in 185 countries under an international arrest warrant, Ekho reported.
