Azerbaijan vows to catch sex video blackmailers

BAKU - Agence France-Presse

AFP photo

Azerbaijan's presidency on Thursday vowed to catch those responsible for distributing a covertly filmed sexually explicit video in a bid to blackmail a journalist to stop her high-profile reporting.

"The relevant law enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan are currently investigating the matter and will do everything possible to identify the people and forces behind this dirty campaign," the presidential administration said in a statement.
 
"The Azerbaijani authorities consider interference in the private life of any journalist, regardless of their political position and views, to be unacceptable," it said.
 
The video posted on the Internet late Tuesday showed sex scenes purportedly involving Khadija Ismayilova of Radio Liberty's Azerbaijani Service, who has won awards for her work exposing official corruption in the oil-rich ex-Soviet state.
 
Its release followed an anonymous letter received by Ismayilova last week threatening to humiliate her if she did not "behave".
 
The journalist, who has said she will not give in to threats, dismissed the presidency's statement and blamed the authorities for the blackmail attempt.
 
"I believe it is directly connected with the country's leadership," Ismayilova told AFP.
 
Press freedom campaigners have also condemned the incident, which comes amid broader concerns about media freedoms in Azerbaijan.
 
"We are incensed by this contemptible effort to silence Khadija Ismayilova," the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement Wednesday.
 
"This foul, cruel action against Ismayilova signals that the freedom of expression situation has reached a new low in Azerbaijan," the Baku-based Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety said.
 
The Azerbaijani authorities have consistently rejected accusations that free speech is seriously limited by restrictive legislation, official censorship, punitive prosecutions and assaults on journalists.