Azerbaijani newspaper accuses bureaucrats of trying to bribe journalists

The top managers of the "Hural" newspaper have addressed their complaint to the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) against the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Azerbaijan. The newspaper accuses the Ministry of blackmail. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the IRFS, that one of the recent issues of the "Hural" newspaper published an article about a financial scandal between the ex-Public Prosecutor Eldar Gasanov and the present Minister of Labour and Social Protection Fizuli Alekperov.

Avez Zeinally, editor-in-chief of the "Hural," has explained that after that publication, certain people belonging to the retinue of Rizvan Aliev, head of the machinery of the Ministry of Labour, offered 10,000 US dollars to the newspaper in exchange of stopping any further publications about the Minister. After the offer, the newspaper editor filed complaints to the Public Prosecutor and Ministers of Internal Affairs and National Security.

It is worthy of noting here that two weeks ago Rizvan Aliev's complaint was used as a pretext for arresting Mushfig Guseinov, an employee of the "Bizim Yol" newspaper, who was accused of taking a 3500-dollar bribe. However, the journalist has declared that his arrest was "customized" by Azerbaijani Minister Fizuli Alekperov, whose work was criticized by the journalist in his publications.