Khadija Ismayilova, an outspoken Azerbaijani journalist with a reputation for investigating the “secret” business of President Ilham Aliyev’s family, has been targeted by threats and blackmail. She believes that ruling circles are behind the smearing campaign aiming to silence her, whereas officials deny any connection to the blackmailing.

On March 7, Ismayilova received a letter with intimate photos of her and the words “behave, whore, or you will be shamed.” In response, she posted a statement on her own Facebook page with the headline “This Is How I Answer Blackmailing – Read and Share!” The statement read that the threats were not “a surprise” for her and she had been expecting “new dirty blackmailing moves from people who are stealing the public money.” 

A week after Ismayilova received the threatening letter by mail; video footage of her engaging in sexual activity was posted on the internet, filmed by a spy camera inside her house. The video was posted on a website allegedly linked to Musavat, an opposition party which has a newspaper of the same name. The leaders of the Musavat party and the editors of the Musavat newspaper have denied any link to the mirror website.

According to Ismayilova, it is not the first time that she has been threatened for her professional activity as an investigative journalist.

“For a long time, my journalistic activity has been a source of concern for the government. I have been a subject of attacks and slander in pro-government newspapers. I have been absurdly accused of having Armenian relatives and working for foreign intelligence,” she stated. Ismayilova’s reporting could certainly be a source of concern for Azerbaijani authorities. She has written articles implying that the daughters of President Ilham Aliyev could have a secret ownership stake in Azerfon, the country's mobile telecom company. She has also connected the president's family to the ownership of a number of banks in the country and alleged that the relationship was used for shady money transfers.

“The motives of these acts are very well known to the public. It is done to compel people who are outspoken to silence,” she stated and noted several investigative reports she was currently working on. She had recently sent inquires to Government offices about “businesses of the ruling family.” After receiving the threatening letter, Ismayilova requested the interior ministry and prosecution service to investigate the matter. She was vocally supported by domestic and international media watchdog organizations condemning the smearing campaign and insisting on a full investigation. “Khadija Ismayilova is being subjected to a vicious campaign with the sole purpose of undermining her as a journalist and silencing her critical opinions,” Article 19’s executive director Agnès Callamard said. “By using sexual images of Ismayilova, those wanting to blackmail her appear to specifically target her gender, as such tactics in a society like Azerbaijan are likely to have particularly damaging repercussions,” Callamard added. The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders noted on March 15 that “the fact that those behind this smearing campaign were able to film the video shows that they have exceptional resources and are ready to stop at nothing.”

John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia, stated that “the fact that those behind this appalling campaign were able to place a camera inside Khadija Ismayilova’s home, then attempted to lay the blame with an opposition party, points very much to official involvement.”

Officials were quick to deny any connection to the blackmail attempt. The office of Azerbaijan’s president has promised to do “everything possible” to catch those responsible for distributing a sexually explicit video. In a statement issued on March 15, the president's office “strongly condemned” what it described as a “dirty campaign” and “provocation.” The statement said the authorities consider “interference in the private life of any journalist, regardless of their political position and views, to be unacceptable.”

Elnur Aslanov, head of the Political Analysis and Information Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, stated that “the video is a part of a campaign of the subversive forces, who try to destabilize the situation in Azerbaijan, to damage the international image of the country, to create tensions and confusion in the society.”

Ismayilova, however, did not believe these protestations of innocence, and called the spokesman's statements “absolutely insincere ... absolutely outrageous.” She believes that the government has punished her for her stories and now tries to protect itself.

According to a U.S. embassy cable leaked by Wiki Leaks, President Aliyev complained about Ismayilova at a meeting with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza on 19 January 2009. He described her as a “long-time opposition activist who considers herself to be an enemy of the government” and said he was hoping for a “change of direction” in RFE/RL’s coverage of Azerbaijan.

International media-freedom organizations also believe that the Azerbaijani government is currently trying to hide the continuing press freedom violations in the run-up to the May 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, which Baku is hosting. “The regime must realize that hosting glitzy events such as Eurovision won’t mask the extent of the country's human rights violations,” John Dalhuisen told The Guardian on March 15.