Tag: exile

The story was originally published on Meydan TV. The version below is a translated and streamlined version of the original article. 

The reach of Azerbaijan’s crackdown has increasingly extended beyond its borders. Journalists, bloggers, and activists living in exile across Europe have reported being surveilled, followed, and threatened — raising alarms about transnational repression.

On February 18, journalist Emin Huseynov published a video from Geneva, saying he had been followed by unknown individuals, just one day after publicly challenging President Aliyev at the Munich Security Conference.

On February 22, blogger Qabil Mammadov reported in a live YouTube broadcast from Europe that two men had been detained near the home of Alemdar Bunyadov, a member of the Muslim Unity Movement in exile, and that weapons had been found in their vehicle. During the same broadcast, blogger Mehman Huseynov — who had published a series of videos about the President’s daughter-in-law, Alyona Aliyeva — stated that he was being followed by a car.

Mehman Huseynov told Meydan TV that after publishing the videos, he began receiving death threats via social media and various online platforms. He said that members of his family in Baku — his father and brother — had been taken to the State Security Service and shown intimate videos of him, in an apparent attempt to intimidate and silence him. “We had already initiated formal procedures in the country where I live, citing a threat to my life,” he said. He also noted that MP Razi Nurullayev had called for his punishment from the floor of the Azerbaijani parliament in December, in connection with his posts about the police.

Journalist and former political prisoner Afgan Mukhtarli, who lives in Germany, told Meydan TV that the Azerbaijani authorities have a documented history of conducting operations against critics abroad. He cited the cases of Rauf Mirqadirov, who was abducted; of Bayram Mammadov, who died in mysterious circumstances in Turkey; of Vugar Rza, who died similarly in Belgium; of Huseyn Bakikhanov, who was openly murdered in Tbilisi; and of Vidadi Isgandarli, who was killed in France. Most recently, he noted, Mohammed Mirzali had survived armed and knife attacks in France. “Taking all this into account, the lives of Azerbaijani political emigrants, bloggers, and journalists are under real threat,” Mukhtarli said.

He named those he believes are currently being targeted: Ganimat Zahid, editor-in-chief of Azadliq newspaper; blogger Qabil Mammadov; journalist Emin Huseynov and his brother Mehman Huseynov; and religious figures Alemdar Bunyadov and Orkhan Agayev.

Mukhtarli urged those receiving threats to report them immediately to the law enforcement and intelligence services of their host countries, to avoid traveling alone, to stay in populated areas, to refrain from going out late at night, and to have their phones checked for spyware and location-tracking software. “Pay very serious attention to personal security,” he warned.

Mehman Huseynov confirmed that German criminal police had placed his home and the surrounding area under surveillance. “I have been assigned protection, and I am not leaving the house,” he said. He added that French, German, and Swiss criminal police are now collaborating to counter transnational crimes targeting Azerbaijani exiles. Ganimat Zahid, living in France, is also said to be under serious threat.