February 6, 2020
ALIYEV EXTENDS HUNT ON HIS POLITICAL OPPONENTS OUTSIDE OF AZERBAIJANI BORDERS
Since 1993 the Aliyev’s dynasty has been ruling in Azerbaijan. Until 2003 by the KGB general Heydar Aliyev and then, for the past 17 years by his son Ilham Aliyev.
During all these years the Aliyev’s regime have been regularly carrying out the policy of political repressions, arrests, tortures, and killings of its critics.
As the result of brutal persecutions, many civil society activists: human rights activists, journalists had to leave Azerbaijan out of fear of physical destruction.
However, recently the Azerbaijani dictator launched a terror against his critics in Europe and in the United States.
At the beginning of November 2019 Mr. Emin Akhmedbekov, the former officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan who lives now in France as a political dissident and works as a journalist in the independent Turan TV Satellite Channel received confidential information from Baku about the plans to neutralize the most active critics of the regime living in the West.
The names of the listed persons were mentioned in this regard:
- Sevinj Mirzoyeva (Osmankizi), residence : the United States,
- founder and head of Osmankızı On-Line TV channel.
- Leyla Yunusova, residence : the Netherlands, former prisoner of conscience, human rights activist, director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy.
- Arif Yunusov, residence: the Netherlands, former prisoner of conscience, conflict expert at the Institute for Peace and Democracy
- Arif Mammadov, residence : Belgium, former ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe and the European Union, one of the main persons to expose the “Caviar Diplomacy of Azerbaijan” in PACE.
- Ganimat Zaidov, residence : France, former prisoner of conscience, editor-in-chief of the Azadlig newspaper, founder and director of the only satellite TV channel TURAN TV
- Emin Akhmedbekov, residence: France, former prisoner of conscience, former officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, head of the Russian editorial service of TURAN TV satellite television
- Turkel Alisoy, residence: Netherlands, activist of the Popular Front Party, program editor in TURAN TV
- Vidadi Iskenderli, residence: France, former prisoner of conscience, human rights defender
- Gabil Mammadov, residence: Germany, former Army officer, now Internet blogger.
- Ordukhan Temirkhan, residence: Netherlands, blogger.
The first attack was carried out on 29th of January 2020 against the
blogger Gabil Mammadov( resident in Germany Bergkamen) . He was attacked and severely beaten by unknown persons who used tear gas against him. His young son was present at the scene and is in the state of the psychological shock as the result of the attack against his father.
The German police is investigating the case. The video recording is available.
This is the detailed description of the threats and the fact of attempt on life
of Sevinj Osmankizi, written by her:
«On January 28th, 2020 I was taking my 13-yrs old son to school. I drove a couple of mins, when I noticed that the car is shaking. I thought I had a flat tire and tried to drive to the nearest air pump place at gas station. As I was trying to make there both my front tires collapsed. The shop that serviced the car found nothing wrong with the tires and suggested that they were tampered. I reported the incident to the local Loudoun county police, as well as FBI and State Department.
On October 24, 2019 I received a phone call warning me that I’ve been “hurting some honorable people’s esteem.” I was told, “accidents may happen,” and “mouths that don’t shut, are shut up.” I reported on this threat on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, so there is clear evidence of this occurrence. https://twitter.com/Osmanqizi/status/1187592427059716096
On September 11, 2019, the ruling YAP party in Azerbaijan organized a roundtable on “foreign threats.” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Azerbaijani carried a report on the roundtable singling out three broadcasters that the government characterizes as a threat. One of three bloggers along with French-based “Azerbaijan Saati” and Germany based “Azad Soz” was US-based Osmanqizi TV, my channel. According to RFE/RL the total subscriber count for these 3 channels is half a million.
Here’s an excerpt from report https://www.facebook.com/Osmanqizi/videos/1313296988843472/
On April I, 2019 I was threatened publicly by azerbaijan RealTV. This threat was made on the air by the anchor and the General-Director of RealTV Mirshahin Agayev. He demanded that I stop my journalistic work, or he would make public intimate photos and videos of me. Two weeks prior to this public threat, audio of my personal phone conversation with a Germany-based colleague was broadcast on the same government-sponsored Real TV and others. Please see reports.
https://cpj.org/2019/05/azerbaijani-journalist-sevinc-osmanqizi-faces-hara.php
https://www.contact.az/ext/news/2019/4/free/politics%20news/en/80569.htm
https://crudeaccountability.org/osmanqizi/
https://time.com/5599094/one-free-press-10-most-urgent-june/
I began video-blogging from my home in US in 2016. Today I have over 108K followers on Facebook and 158K subscribers on YouTube on Osmanqizi TV. I produce daily news programs for Azeri-language audience, often critical of the government. As a result, I have become a target of Azerbaijani government administrators.
In 2017 my sister Lala Hajiyeva who lives in Azerbaijan was forced to publicly disown me to avoid retaliation for my work.
https://www.meydan.tv/az/article/bacisi-sevinc-osmanqizindan-imtina-etdi/
https://musavat.com/news/bacisi-sevinc-osmanqizindan-imtina-etdi-sebebnedir_426877.html
On January 31, 2020 the pro-government website in Azerbaijan published a defamatory article about Leyla and Arif Yunusov: https://haqqin.az/comics/168901
allegedly being employed by Armenia, and all their publications, articles, in particular their book “From the Soviet camp to Azerbaijani prison”, defaming Azerbaijan, write with the help of some Armenian funds…
And immediately afterwards came the information from Baku that this despicable article was written and widely spread specially to create a pretext for attacking the Yunusov’s family. The aggression will be presented as an action committed by an Azerbaijani patriot, an ordinary citizen who seeks revenge on the traitors of his homeland employed by the hostile Armenia.
We write this appeal in the hope of preventing new attempts at attempting the life of our like-minded people, colleagues and friends.
Dr. Leyla Yunusova, Director of Institute for Peace and Democracy
Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor, Winner of International Theodore Hacker Award , Laureate of Polish Sergio Vieira de Mello Award, Winner of Battle of Crete Award, Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought of the European Parliament Finalist
Sevinc Osmanqizi, founder and head of Osmankızı On-Line TV channel
Arif Mammadov, former ambassador of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe and the European Union
Emin Ahmadbaev, head of the Russian editorial service of TURAN TV satellite television
Ganimat Zahid, founder and director of the TURAN TV satellite television