Azerbaijani Court Jails Two Opposition Journalists

Journalists Rovshan Kabirli and Yashar Agazade in a Baku court (RFE/RL) May 16, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- A court in Baku has sentenced two Azerbaijani opposition journalists to prison for slander, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reported.

The court sentenced Rovshan Kabirli, editor of the opposition daily newspaper "Mukhalifat," and Yashar Agazade, a reporter for the paper, to 30 months in prison.

The slander convictions were related to an article the newspaper published in February about the business activities of Jalal Aliyev, an uncle of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.

A total of seven journalists are now in prison in Azerbaijan. Rights groups have warned that Azerbaijani journalists who criticize the authorities or expose corruption face a growing risk of arrest or reprisal attacks.