Azerbaijani journalists, rights activists slam Turkish media for 'misinformation'

They say reports indicating that the journalist was killed because of his criticism of an Azerbaijani football player's manner rather than because he criticized the waving of the Turkish flag after a match against a Greek Cypriot team, as the main Turkish news sources reported on Monday, are inaccurate.

Aliyev, who was Azerbaijani, was beaten to death by a relative of local football player Cavid Huseynov and the relative's friends in the capital city of Baku on Saturday, later dying of his injuries in the hospital.

The incident was reportedly instigated by a Facebook status Aliyev posted criticizing Huseynov's behavior toward the Greek Cypriot journalist who questioned why Huseynov waved the Turkish flag directly after his team, FK Qabala, beat the Greek Cypriot football team Apollon Limassol 1-0 on Aug. 6.

In response, Huseynov allegedly made a rude hand gesture and said, "Turks are my friends.” It is believed that this was an effort to show the close ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The Turkish Hürriyet, Milliyet and Radikal dailes, however, reported that Aliyev died because he criticized "the football player´s victory parade with the Turkish flag on the field.”

"What the Turkish media, from the most serious ones up to the unprofessional ones, covered about [the death of] Rasim Aliyev is wrong and misinformation,” Hebib Müntezir, the social media manager of Berlin-based Meydan TV, said via his Facebook on Monday.

Calling on the public not to rely on the information published by Turkish media outlets, Müntezir slammed the reports revealing the contrast "between Turks' condemnation of terrorism and their applause of the murder due to the flag.”

Aliyev criticized Huseynov on social media saying that he did not want such an ill-mannered person to represent him in the international arena, after which Aliyev received a significant number of offensive comments. Aliyev then received a call from a person who introduced himself as Huseynov's cousin and invited the journalist to have tea, according to Aliyev who spoke with Azeri news websites before he died in the hospital on Aug. 9. When he arrived at the meeting point Aliyev was assaulted by at least five people.

Condemning the Turkish media reports, Azerbaijani rights activist Vugar Gojayev said that the inaccurate information had caused serious disappointment and astonishment among many Azerbaijanis. 

"A murder was committed against an outspoken and respected reporter. It is another example of the widespread impunity for vicious cycle of violence against journalists in the country,” he stated.

"The way the Turkish media covered this horrible incident is certainly misleading and a barefaced distortion of truth. Those [Turkish] papers should immediately retract the blatantly false reports, and should call for the Azeri government to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he concluded.

 

(Today's Zaman)