Emin Rafiq oglu Huseynov ( az, Emin Hüseynov; born 4 December 1979) is an Azerbaijani journalist and human rights activist. He was the chairman of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety. After he was forced into hiding to avoid arrest in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, Huseynov fled Azerbaijan and is in the process of attaining political asylum status in Switzerland.

Life and career

Emin Huseynov was born on 4 December 1979 in Baku, Azerbaijan. He completed his education at

Azerbaijan State University of Economics , latin_name = , image = Azerbaijan State Economic University main building.jpg , image_upright = 1.2 , caption = Building of Azerbaijan State Economic University in Istiglaliyyat Street , motto = , established = June ...

. From 2002 to 2005, he worked at the

Turan Information Agency Turan Information Agency ( az, Turan İnformasiya Agentliyi) is a news agency based in Baku, Azerbaijan. Founded in Azerbaijan SSR in 1990 by a group of journalists who refused to work in the state media. The Agency prepares analytical articles ...

, a Baku-based news agency. In 2006, he became the founding member and chairman of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS). He remained as chairman until he went into hiding in 2014. In 2008, he became the monitor of the ITV television channel. In 2010, he became the founding member and chairman of ''Objective TV''. He is married to Sarah Paulsworth, an American citizen.

Repression and exile

In 2008, Huseynov reported about the crackdown of peaceful rallies by Azerbaijani police. He was subsequently detained by the law authorities of Azerbaijan and beaten. Huseynov sustained injuries to the brain and was hospitalized. Due to this event, Huseynov continues to have health concerns. Afraid of being arrested during a crackdown of journalists in August 2014, Huseynov escaped Azerbaijan to Turkey but was detained at the border. Meanwhile, a raid was conducted at the main office of the IRFS in Baku. Fearing for his life, Huseynov went to the Swiss embassy where he remained hiding. While hiding, the IRFS offices were shut down by the authorities and its members were detained, some beaten. While hiding, Huseynov was convicted of abuse of power and tax evasion, a charge which would sentence him to 12 years in prison if convicted. After almost a year of hiding, Huseynov flew to Switzerland on 13 June 2015. The flight was arranged by the Swiss foreign minister,

Didier Burkhalter Didier Eric Burkhalter (born 17 April 1960) is a Swiss politician who served as a Member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2009 to 2017. A member of FDP.The Liberals, he was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2014. Burkhalter was elected ...

. He currently resides in Bern and is applying for political asylum.

International condemnation

Several international organization expressed their condemnation and concern over Emin Huseynov's case including International Media Support, Council of Europe, International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), Article 19,

Civil Rights Defenders Civil Rights Defenders (Formerly the Swedish Helsinki Committee) is an international non-governmental organisation based in Stockholm, Sweden that does human rights work with a focus on civil and political rights. They primarily work to support ...

, Human Rights House Foundation,

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress in 1975 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and o ...

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...

, and others. An

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

representative,

Dunja Mijatović Dunja Mijatović ( sr-cyr, Дуња Мијатовић; born 8 September 1964) is a Bosnian human rights expert and activist, serving as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. She was elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Co ...

, stated: Gulnara Akhundova of International Media Support stated:

Support initiatives

A support initiative for Emin Huseynov is launched by the

Courage Foundation The Courage Foundation is an international organisation based in Germany, the UK and the US that supports whistleblowers and journalists by fundraising for their legal defence. Founded on August 9, 2013, as the Journalistic Source Protection De ...

. The initiative is tasked to help support Emin Huseynov and to collect donations and funds to help him with his legal case.

References

External links

CNN interview: Azerbaijan activist in exile: 'I'm afraid for my life'BBC World News interview with Emin Huseynov
(YouTube video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Huseynov, Emin 1979 births Azerbaijani human rights activists Journalists from Baku Investigative journalists Living people Political controversies in Azerbaijan