YouTube is also becoming increasingly popular among Azerbaijani Internet users.
Several youth groups are posting videos online and are using YouTube as a platform
to communicate with other YouTube members or members of the public at large. The
popularity of the multimedia site prompted the head of the National Council on TV
and Radio Broadcasting of Azerbaijan, Nushirevan Magerramli, to announce the government’s intention to regulate Internet TV and Internet Radio. 21
The Telecommunications Act is expected to prohibit the same legal entity from concentrating more than three publications under one TV and radio company. In 2007,
the government announced that in some regions of the country, TV signals from
neighboring Armenia and Iran are stronger than the national TV broadcast. 22 As a
result, the National Television and Radio Council ordered a discontinuation of the
broadcast of Russian and Turkish TV stations on Azerbaijani territory. In October
2008, the council announced its decision to suspend the licenses of some international
radio channels, such as the BBC, Radio Liberty, and others.
The Azerbaijani defamation legislation has been a frequent subject of criticism by
the international human rights community. The government has been under pressure
to decriminalize libel, especially after prosecution against journalists and bloggers has
intensified. For example, Eynulla Fatullayev, the editor of Azerbaijan’s largest independent newspaper and an outspoken critic of the government, was sentenced to eight
years and six months in prison on charges of terrorism and inciting ethnic hatred. 23
Fatullayev was sentenced earlier during the same year under the criminal libel provision to 30 months in prison for a posting attributed to him. The posting blamed the
Azerbaijani government for one of the massacres in the Nagorno-Karabakh war in
1992. 24 Fatullayev denied writing the posting and argued that the charges were politically motivated. This case stirred massive protests in the country against the editor’s
conviction. The authorities shut down the publications in which Fatullayev participated. The hard disk drives of the computers of these publications were also seized. 25
Another recent case shows that the government has exercised pressure on ISPs to
take down specific Internet content. Sensitive videos considered offensive to Azerbaijani national feelings were uploaded online to cause a massive uproar in the society.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an official letter to the ISP to express
its disapproval and have the videos removed.
Surveillance
Azerbaijani law does not include a formal legal foundation requiring Internet surveillance. Nevertheless, surveillance does occur, mainly by means of sporadic visits of
the State Security Services to ISPs. In 2000–2001, there was an unsuccessful attempt
to adopt the Russian SORM-II model for Internet surveillance, but the project was
Azerbaijan
155
Several youth groups are posting videos online and are using YouTube as a platform
to communicate with other YouTube members or members of the public at large. The
popularity of the multimedia site prompted the head of the National Council on TV
and Radio Broadcasting of Azerbaijan, Nushirevan Magerramli, to announce the government’s intention to regulate Internet TV and Internet Radio. 21
The Telecommunications Act is expected to prohibit the same legal entity from concentrating more than three publications under one TV and radio company. In 2007,
the government announced that in some regions of the country, TV signals from
neighboring Armenia and Iran are stronger than the national TV broadcast. 22 As a
result, the National Television and Radio Council ordered a discontinuation of the
broadcast of Russian and Turkish TV stations on Azerbaijani territory. In October
2008, the council announced its decision to suspend the licenses of some international
radio channels, such as the BBC, Radio Liberty, and others.
The Azerbaijani defamation legislation has been a frequent subject of criticism by
the international human rights community. The government has been under pressure
to decriminalize libel, especially after prosecution against journalists and bloggers has
intensified. For example, Eynulla Fatullayev, the editor of Azerbaijan’s largest independent newspaper and an outspoken critic of the government, was sentenced to eight
years and six months in prison on charges of terrorism and inciting ethnic hatred. 23
Fatullayev was sentenced earlier during the same year under the criminal libel provision to 30 months in prison for a posting attributed to him. The posting blamed the
Azerbaijani government for one of the massacres in the Nagorno-Karabakh war in
1992. 24 Fatullayev denied writing the posting and argued that the charges were politically motivated. This case stirred massive protests in the country against the editor’s
conviction. The authorities shut down the publications in which Fatullayev participated. The hard disk drives of the computers of these publications were also seized. 25
Another recent case shows that the government has exercised pressure on ISPs to
take down specific Internet content. Sensitive videos considered offensive to Azerbaijani national feelings were uploaded online to cause a massive uproar in the society.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent an official letter to the ISP to express
its disapproval and have the videos removed.
Surveillance
Azerbaijani law does not include a formal legal foundation requiring Internet surveillance. Nevertheless, surveillance does occur, mainly by means of sporadic visits of
the State Security Services to ISPs. In 2000–2001, there was an unsuccessful attempt
to adopt the Russian SORM-II model for Internet surveillance, but the project was
Azerbaijan
155