AZERBAIJAN: Investigators name chief suspect in

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ALERT UPDATE - AZERBAIJAN

5 May 2005

Investigators name chief suspect in murder of opposition editor

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

**Updates IFEX alerts of 12 April and 2 March 2005**

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 4 May 2005 CPJ press release:

Azerbaijan: Investigators name chief suspect in murder of opposition editor

New York, May 4, 2005 - Investigators in Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, said

late yesterday that a 46-year-old Georgian citizen is the chief suspect in

the March 2 murder of Elmar Huseynov, founder and editor of the opposition

news magazine Monitor.

The National Security Ministry (MNB), which is conducting the inquiry into

Huseynov's killing, identified the suspect as Tair Hubanov, according to

local and international news reports. Using a different name, the man came

to Huseynov's apartment several times in the week before the murder and

inquired when the editor would be home, Rushana Huseynova, the victim's

wife, told the Committee to Protect Journalists in a telephone interview

today.

Huseynova said MNB officers showed her a photo of the man yesterday,

although the official MNB announcement distributed later that day included a

composite rendering of the suspect. Huseynova said she was confused that the

actual photo was not released.

On April 7, investigators said that they identified six suspects in

Huseynov's murder, all Georgian citizens, but the MNB did not describe any

motive or evidence linking them to the murder. Five of the suspects were

released later that month for lack of evidence.

Also on April 7, the prosecutor general's office reclassified Huseynov's

case from a "premeditated murder" to an "act of terrorism." Investigators

said the murder was meant to destabilize the country, but did not elaborate,

according to local press reports. The new status echoed President Ilham

Aliyev's characterization of the crime; he condemned the murder on March 3

as a "provocation against the Azerbaijani state" and an "act of terrorism."

Huseynova told CPJ today that she is skeptical that investigators have

identified the real killer, and said she believes her husband was killed for

his work as a journalist in Azerbaijan.

Huseynov was shot several times on the night of March 2 in his Baku

apartment building. Huseynov's family said the editor had received threats

prior to his murder and was concerned about his safety. His colleagues

believe that the murder is related to his work at Monitor. Under Huseynov's

leadership, the weekly faced several defamation lawsuits after criticizing

government officials.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to

safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information on Azerbaijan, visit

http://www.cpj.org.

For further information, contact Alex Lupis (x101) or Nina Ognianova (x106)

at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004,

fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: europe@cpj.org, Internet: http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this alert update is the sole responsibility of

CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit

CPJ.

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