Read Khadija's Statement

On  March 7, I received a letter to my home address with threats and blackmail. It includes some photos of an intimate nature and a threat.

It says if I don’t stop working I will be hugely embarrassed. This threat is not a surprise for me.  I have been doing investigative journalism for a long time. My investigations have included the secret businesses of president Ilham Aliyev’s family and documented instances of corruption at the highest level and disclosed the offshore businesses of members of the ruling family.

Currently I am working on several investigative reports. I have sent inquiries to the Government offices about businesses of ruling family.

For a long time my journalistic activity has been the source of concern for the government . I have been the subject of attacks and slander in pro-government newspapers. I have been absurdly accused of having Armenian relatives and working for foreign intelligence.

Many of my colleagues have been subject to blackmail and I have been expecting new dirty blackmailing moves from people who are stealing our public money. I was envisioning this and was ready to face it. After receiving the letter today I am convinced and determined that I can withstand any blackmail campaign against me. I will continue my professional activity and work. Because any journalist who respects her profession can not act otherwise.

I would like to repeat that this is not the first time that these acts of blackmail have been used against fellow journalists. The motives of these acts are  very well known to the public. It is done to silence people who are outspoken. There are a serious crimes behind these acts.

I may face more of these disgusting and dangerous steps against me. The Government must investigate these events. Taking into account the nature of my investigations and the source of criticism and attacks against me, I hope the president will  carry responsibility for what may happen and  provide protection for my security.

For more than five years, the government of Azerbaijan lied to its citizens about the ownership of our only mobile phone network, naming the German company Siemens as the owner of Azerfon company, which was enjoying favorable conditions in the market that were not available for competitors. The investigation reveals that president Aliyev’s daughters were behind Azerfon through shell companies in Panama.
 http://www.rferl.org/content/azerbaijan_president_aliyev_daughters_tied_to_telecoms_firm/24248340.html

The investigation conducted with Ulviyya Asadzade documented how President IlhamAliyev’s family was involved in the illegal privatization of the public bank and other parts of state owned Azerbaijan Airlines company, to benefit the Aliyev family. The government never publicly announced the privatization. The report was declared “the best investigation of Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty in 2010” among the 28 language services of the radio.

The feature highlights the Iranian football team “Trakhtur,” which became a symbol of Azerbaijani Turks’ struggle in Iran for cultural and linguistic rights. The story reports on the arrests of ethnic rights champions, human rights movement and activists, using the stadium as a platform for voicing their problems.

Radio documentary about infant mortality. The investigation reveals infant mortality cases, which never appeared in official statistics explaining the difference between government figures and an independent assessment.

Investigation about corruption in tender procedures of contracting Turkish company Barmek for the Baku city Electricity Supply Management. The investigation revealed that the company obtained the contract thanks to the previous agreement among presidents of Azerbaijan and his friend, former president of Turkey.

Report about political games around BTC pipeline, negotiations behind the scenes, and heretofore undisclosed alternative plans of energy routes.