Azerbaijan: Imprisoned Journalists Recognized for Courage

by via HRW

Thu, Apr 24, 2008 7:02AM

(New York, April 24, 2008) Three Azerbaijani writers have been recognized for persevering in their work despite political persecution and imprisonment, Human Rights Watch said today. All three writers are behind bars, largely for doing work they believed in and for trying to inform the public. We hope that this award will help raise awareness of their imprisonment and the need for their unconditional and immediate release.

The Hellman/Hammett grants, administered by Human Rights Watch, are given annually to writers who face political persecution for their work. The grant program began in 1989 when the American playwright Lillian Hellman willed her estate to be used to help writers who were victims of political persecution and were in financial need as a result. A committee of authors, editors and journalists select the candidates for the award. This year, there are 34 award recipients from 19 countries, including the three from Azerbaijan.

For the past year and a half, the government of Azerbaijan has cracked down on independent and opposition media. It has used libel, defamation and other criminal charges to intimidate more than a dozen independent and opposition journalists, some of whom have also been physically attacked by unknown assailants.

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For more information: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/04/24/aze...

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