Independent, opposition media in Azerbaijan sue after being barred from Ali Insanov's criminal trial

Officials at the Baku Court for Grave Crimes have said there were too few seats to
accommodate all the journalists seeking to cover the trial of Ali Insanov, one of several former senior government officials who were sacked or arrested in the run-up to parliamentary elections in 2005.

However, opposition and independent journalists charge that only representatives from state media outlets were being allowed inside the court and say the proceedings should be open to all journalists.

Lawyer Intigam Aliyev said nine well-known and smaller newspapers had joined the suit.

An Azerbaijani media freedom group charged that authorities were blocking independent journalists from covering the trial in order to keep Insanov's critical comments about the ruling party from being printed. The Institute for Freedom and Safety of Reporters said officials should set up a video camera and monitor to broadcast proceedings if there were too few seats in the courtroom.

In reality, there are plenty of empty spaces in the hall. This problem shows the Azerbaijani government's suppression of the freedom of speech," the organization said in a statement.

Insanov went on trial on Feb. 15, facing charges that include abuse of power, receiving bribes, forgery and major embezzlement. He was arrested in the fall of 2005, in the tense run-up to parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan and police said an estimated US$2.3 million (?1.85 million) in U.S. and European currency was found in his apartment.

Also sacked or arrested that year were former finance minister Fikret Yusifov, former economic development minister Fardakh Aliev. Several face charges of plotting to seize power in the oil-rich Caspian Sea nation, which is tightly controlled by President Ilham Aliyev.

The United States and European countries have pursued close ties with Azerbaijan since the 1991 Soviet collapse, backing a pipeline carrying Caspian Sea oil westward, but have expressed concern about its democracy and free speech. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/