Azerbaijani investigative reporter wins top Index award

An Azebaijani journalist whose investigative work put his life in danger has won the Guardian award for journalism at this year's Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards.

Idrak Abbasov reports for newspaper Ayna-Zerkalo, and is one of the founding members of Azerbaijan’s Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety.

His reports on the activities of a local oil company led to the firm sending bulldozers to his family's home, claiming ownership of the site and causing his parents and brother to be hospitalised after being injured by security men.

Accepting the award, Abbasov said: "In Azerbaijan, where I have come from, telling the truth can cost a journalist their life. In countries such as Azerbaijan we journalists have to make a choice, and we choose the right to tell the truth.

"I am not complaining. I made a conscious choice when I chose this profession, and I thank fate every day for my work. Censorship, persecution, limited access to public information, arrests – the situation of the mass media in Azerbaijan is growing worse and their freedom is being curtailed year after year.

"At the moment, nine journalists are under arrest on trumped-up charges of possessing drugs or weapons. In Azerbaijan, a request from a deputy of the ruling party is sufficient grounds for arresting the editor of a journal that is criticising the government, even in the absence of evidence."

He added: "We accept that our lives are in danger, as are the lives of our families. But the goal is worth it, since the right to truth is worth more than a life without truth.

A Syrian cartoonist who satirised president Assad's regime won the arts award. Ali Ferzat's drawings were praised for challenging one of the most autocratic regimes in the Middle East.

Last August, Ferzat was wrenched from his vehicle in central Damascus by pro-Assad masked gunmen who beat him badly and broke his hands. 

On receiving the award, Ferzat said: "Artists know they are following the correct track when the international community and organizations honour their work and acknowledge it, they know they are on the right path towards love, peace and freedom."

The awards were presented last night at ceremony in London by Jonathan Dimbleby. The full list of winners can be found here.

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