Shrinking space for Azerbaijan’s last independent voices

Konstantin Adamov News, Re-Post

On 8 August, Azerbaijani tax authorities launched an investigation of Turan News Agency. Local civil society activists and international human rights organizations believe this investigation is aimed at the termination of the activities of the last independent media outlet in the country. On 24 August Mehman Aliyev, the director of the news agency and a well-known journalist was sentenced to three months pretrial detention on charges of tax evasion, illegal entrepreneurship and abuse of power. As a result, Turan announced that it planned to suspend its operations as of September.

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Former political prisoners, journalists, human rights defenders condemn arrest of Mehman Aliyev

Konstantin Adamov News

Statement of The Working Group on Unified List of Political Prisoners on the Detention of Mehman Aliyev and the Suspension of Turan News Agency’s Activities

The Working Group on Unified List of Political Prisoners is dismayed by the news of the detention of the director of Turan News Agency, Mehman Aliyev, and the suspension of the only remaining independent news media in Azerbaijan – Turan News Agency.

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Azerbaijan Customs Committee fails to report billions in imports

Konstantin Adamov News

The State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan (SCC) failed to register $24.8 billion worth of imported goods from 2010-2015, resulting in a loss for the state budget of about $5 billion in taxes. The SCC blames importers, but experts say that the Prosecutor’s Office should launch an investigation.

According to the SCC, in the first ten days of April 2017 importers underreported the value of goods entering Azerbaijan by 2.4 million AZN (about $1.4 million). Noting that some individuals and legal entities had submitted false invoices to avoid tax payments, the Committee announced that it had collected an additional 895 thousand AZN in taxes and transferred the amount to the state budget.

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Turan accuses Ministry of Taxes of violating tax code

Konstantin Adamov News, Re-Post

Last week the Ministry of Taxes opened a criminal case against Turan Information Agency, an independent media outlet in Baku, alleging large-scale tax evasion. Turan’s director, Mehman Aliyev, categorically rejects the allegations and claims that the Ministry’s handling of the case violates Azerbaijan’s tax code regulations. Reporters Without Borders has condemned the Ministry’s actions as ‘persecution.’

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Step by step …

Konstantin Adamov Re-Post

No one can deny the progressive development of history. The historical process changes people, society, morals and laws. What was forbidden becomes allowed. Even honorable. I will not remind you of Sodom and Gomorrah. Now even little children laugh at the sacred books of curses against you know who.

Gay and lesbian people, as well as transgender people, go through government and parliamentary corridors with herds.

People with a traditional orientation begin to feel flawed in the society of civilized people.

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Azerbaijan’s American Media Manipulation by Casey Michel

Konstantin Adamov Re-Post, Stories

The past two years have seen a flurry of analyses on Azerbaijan’s moves to whitewash its dictatorial image for American audiences. Slathered in hydrocarbon profits, the autocratic government of Ilham Aliyev has unleashed spin-doctors, duped reporters, and led one of the most brazen pushes to abuse American lobbying loopholes of any foreign government. All of this, while Azerbaijan’s First Family has taken rank advantage of offshore avenues and shell corporations to bilk unknowing taxpayers.

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Aliyevs Profit While Other Banks Suffer

Konstantin Adamov News, Re-Post

2016 was a very bad year for Azerbaijan banks, but it was another good year to be an Aliyev child.

Analysis of banks tied to the three children of President Ilham Aliyev shows that the trio still hold controlling shares in four banks from which they collected $82 million in profits in 2016. Overall, the Azerbaijan banking sector lost $960 million in 2016.

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Blogger Lapshin May Face Up to 6.5 Years in Prison

Konstantin Adamov News, Re-Post

The trial of travel blogger Alexander Lapshin continued yesterday in Baku’s Court of Grave Crimes.

At the trial the prosecutor claimed that the guilt of the defendant had been fully proved. According to the prosecutor, Lapshin himself had acknowledged that he had illegally crossed the state border of Azerbaijan, however he did not admit to acting in cohort with a criminal group – that is, the five individuals with whom he crossed into Nagorno-Karabakh.

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EU Parliament Representative Investigating Mukhtarli Case in Tbilisi

Konstantin Adamov News

To study the details of the kidnapping of Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, Vice-President of the ALDE faction (European Liberal and Democrat Union) Henrik Mortensen has arrived in Tbilisi.

He met with representatives of Georgian parties – “Free Democrats”, and later with the “Republicans”.

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