Eurovision's Dirty Secret Panorama

There are just five days to go to Eurovision. The final of the most

watched, non-sporting contest in the world. A song competition that

attracts 120 million viewers worldwide.

# Only love can save set you free. # Engelbert Humperdinck is

representing the UK, but this year, it's in a country which is no

ordinary host nation. We're under cover in the former Soviet Republic

of Azerbaijan. We are being followed again. Two government

agents were waiting for us in the hotel this morning. Home to a

ruling dynasty, accused of exploiting the contest.

The President of Azerbaijan, the Government of Azerbaijan is

building its propaganda on Eurovision.

A country where a Eurovision vote attracts attention from state

security. TRANSLATION: They asked why I voted

for Armenia, they took a statement and applied pressure.

Where just making fun of regime may land you in jail.

At the end we were sentenced to two and two-and-a-half years in prison.

In fact, if you were marking Azerbaijan's human rights record,

We arrive on a chilly April evening. Azerbaijan does not welcome

investigative journalists. So we are here as tourists, unsure what

will happen if we are caught. The interviews to be done secretly

indoors. Any outdoor filming will be done on a tourist camera.

This is the song that won them last year's competition, and with it the

right to host this year's competition, Running Scared. Some

people in Azerbaijan have been A hilltop high above the capital,

Baku. The blame is for the country's war

dead. It is also a symbol of the vast gas and oil reserves that led

the ancients to call this place the Land of Fire. Azerbaijan produces

almost 1 million barrels of oil a day. The revenues have helped to

make the ruling family, Ilham Aliyev, his wife and three children,

fabulously rich, along with their inner circle.

Just across there is down town Baku it looks out over the Caspian Sea

and if you look this way, you can find the development that

Azerbaijan has spent so much money on to impress the world. The

enormous flag pole, it is 40 storeys high. To the left, is Baka

Chrystal Hall. Built specifically for the Eurovision Song Contest. It

is going to seat more than 20,000 people. Most in the UK view the

song contest with a large dose of irony.

# All kinds of everything... # Its high kitsch charm stretches back to

decades. # Power to all our friends. #

# Water lieu, I was defeated... # # But if you want to see some more.

# Eurovision organisers are determined that politics and the

pop don't mix. The Eurovision is fantastic. I

think that the artist's job is to draw attention to something. It is

not our job to do the rest, there are people like politician,

journalists, people like yourself in the media, you do the rest.

COMMENTATOR: There we have it. The winner of the Eurovision Song

Contest is Azerbaijan. It was not just last year's winning

act breathless with excitement. The regime must have been too. Because

in Azerbaijan, the competition is up there with hosting the football

World Cup or the Olympics. Criticised by some as repressive,

this is a chance for Azerbaijan to sing a song of respectability.

The first family of Azerbaijan is building its propaganda. The

President of Azerbaijan, the government of's is building its

propaganda on Eurovision. It is not fair. I mean it is not fair. That's

Though the regime denies it, Azerbaijan has previously taken

advantage of the contest for political ends.

# How can I stay. # In 2009, this was the entry of their long-time

enemy, Armenia. They fought a bloody border conflict, one that is

smouldering, so whiles we watch the entry in Azerbaijan, someone pulled

the plug for their entry. Watching that night was Rovshan Nasirli, a

pro-democracy supporter. I took out the form, thought about

who to vote for. When the act for Armenia performed, the Azerbaijan

TV stopped the broadcast. COMMENTATOR: Now it is time to

vote... TRANSLATION: It was a protest, I

voted for Armenia. What Rovshan Nasirli did may not

sound like an apolitical statement, but in Azerbaijan, voting for the

enemy, even in a song competition, it is a risk.

Do you have sympathy or support for Armenia, is that what you voted for

them? I didn't even hear the song it was just a protest.

COMMENTATOR: The lines are closed. Please, don't call.

Or, if you are in Azerbaijan, you may end up in the Ministry of

National Security. TRANSLATION: I didn't want to go at

first. They said that the mobile phone number was a part of a

criminal investigation. Other viewers who voted for Armenia were

also questioned. TRANSLATION: They asked why I voted

for Armenia, they took a statement and applied pressure.

Were you scared? TRANSLATION: No, I was not scared.

We just had an argument. They threatened that they were

going to hold me there, that they would show me on TV.

This year, the Armenians have pulled out, afraid for the safety

of their contestants. The people who run Eurovision are

based here in Geneva. The European Broadcasting Union sets the rules.

Key, is that the contest remains apolitical.

In 2009, there were a number of people who vote for Armenia who

were taken in for questioning? is unacceptable.

But it shows us that the Azerbaijan government, the regime has plot

sized the song contest already? That is what we try to prevent, but

they try and that is why we have strict rules and try to prevent it.

Driving through the capital, Baku, a Big Brother figure gazes down. It

is the face of a former hardline ruler from the Soviet ruler, Heydar

Aliyev. He became the President after a

coup. Before dying he handed power to his son, Ilham Aliyev, the

current President. This is his wife, the glamorous Mehriban. The two

style-conscious daughters, Leyla living in London, and Arzu. There

is a son, too, 15-year-old, Heydar Junior, when has acquired a vast

wealth as a tender age. More of the First Family later.

We went to meet activist and journalist, Emin Huseynov, from the

Institute for Reporters' freedom and Safety.

These are the offices? Yes. The staff here take it in turns to

stay in the office overnight so that the secret police cannot break

in and plant bugs. TRANSLATION: The government tried

to control us and keep us under surveillance. They use different

means to provoke us. They can arrest journalists on trumped up

charges. They kill them. They would not be hard-pressed to find and

punish journalists. Emin Huseynov was beaten. In the

2003 presidential election, where we saw Ilham Aliyev come to power.

Then again in an unprovoked attack in 2008, when he was arrested.

TRANSLATION: My imprisonment was ordered from above. These days they

don't beat meefplt but other journalists, -- beat me, but other

journalists, because I'm experienced and well-known.

Another journalist, Elmar Huseynov was renowned for his hard-hitting

criticism of the ream. He was convicted of insulting the nation,

harassed, intimidated, jailed. Then in 2005, he arrived home to find

someone waiting for him. He was shot seven times and the murder is

unsolved. Many other government critics are

in jail. Human rights groups say that the

regime has around 70 political prisoners.

This is how the US embassy described Ilham Aliyev in a leaked

We're off to a rare event on the outskirts of Baku. An opposition

rally, sanctioned by the regime. It was going to be difficult to

pose as tourists here. The secret police were not so secret.

Our fixer had started to point them out.

Can you see the guy on the ledge coming up on the ledge, he is

filming. There are various other guys in

dark sunglass and suits. Those who attend know that they may

be identified. Though, what will happen to the information is

unclear. This is more about intimidation.

They have to get permission to hold a demonstration like this. This is

only the second time since 2006 that they have been allowed to do

it. It is not great mystery why. It is because world attention is now

on Azerbaijan because of the Eurovision Song Contest.

We wanted to speak to some of those attending, but our translator said

that would single them out, that they could risk arrest. Instead, an

opposition leaders, arranged to meet with us the following day.

We left, not wanting to push our luck, but it seemed we were too

late. The undercover agent is following

us. We should go to a hotel that is not ours? Yes, hang out there until

they are gone. We then lost them.

The next morning, we arrived at the apartment of the opposition leader.

TRANSLATION: Many of my relatives are under arrest. The rest were

sacked from their jobs. My passport was taken away from me seven years

ago. Our party offices have been seized from us. Sometimes the

government stages a rally in front of my house. They demand that I

leave the country. We are under constant pressure and control.

Despite all of that, he stood for Parliament, twice.

After the 2005 election, European monitors reported intimidation,

ballot box stuffing and other problems. This is how the regime

dealt with the peaceful protest that followed.

When you leave the house are you followed?

TRANSLATION: Every time they accompany me. It is like they are

sending me a message. We are always with you, that they shir my life.

That they receive e-- that they share my life, that they receive my

messages, I have been living like this for a long time.

Today we have brought our tale right to his door. We have been

here two days, we know we are being followed now. There were three men

in the hotel reception it morning. They followed us here in a car. We

have finished an interview and the Moments later, they followed us

again. On the surface, Baku appears like any prosperous European city.

Familiar brands, status cars, eye- catching architecture, but beneath

the surface the power of the ruling family is never far away. The

president's wife, Mehriban, was elected to Parliament with an

implausible 94% of the votes. We put allegations of rigged elections

to the London ambassador. What I can tell you definitely is that

each election is better than the previous one, of course. Is it

realistic baton MP gets 94%? -- that an MP? Why not? When not?

in an election, it is just inconceivable. It cannot be fed,

can it? It can and it cannot be, I don't know. I do not know what you

are speaking about. This is the president's wife, when she was

elected to Parliament. With all my confidence, I will tell you that

that was definitely real, confident, and she is capable to get even, I

am sincere, more than that. First Lady is also the chairwoman

of Azerbaijan's Eurovision committee and she has been able to

rope in the family. Her son-in-law, Emin Agalarov, will sink to the

audience while the viewers cast their votes. -- will sing.

It looks suspiciously like a family affair and another opportunity for

them to promote themselves as the ruling family. That was my first

reaction as well when I heard it. And what have you done about it?

cannot do anything about it. Is it acceptable? I cannot hide, it was

amazing. Having her son-in-law on stage was probably more sort of

surprising, and I have been told that he is actually a really good

singer. The impression it gives is that it is exploiting Eurovision

for a platform. Yes, the impression is, is this really necessary? I

have to admit that. One musician knew that he would never be

appearing at the Eurovision. He is in a dangerous game of writing

This is what he is singing about. The bulldozing of apartments close

to the Eurovision arena. Old, Communist blocs are not what the

regime once the Eurovision audience to see. They ordered the residents

to leave, many refused, and so the authorities moved in while some

were still inside. TRANSLATION: It was around 5

o'clock in the morning when I heard the noise and the building shook. A

bulldozer had started demolishing the building. We were scared and I

ran out with my children. evictions have happened across Baku

but accelerated after Azerbaijan won the right to host Eurovision.

They had been condemned by human rights groups around the world. But

the contest organisers compare what has happened to the London Olympics.

To be very frank, I think evictions are taking place everywhere. It is

more about the way you are doing it, about proper procedure and

compensation, and I cannot comment because I don't know, but again,

when the Olympic village was built in London, there were evictions and

you had protests. But people were subsidised and given plenty of

notice. Yes, but they thought what was offered was not good enough.

Those kinds of discussions you will find in every country. Although

compensated, some say they only received a fraction of the market

price. The regime says the evictions were not related to the

contest and were part of the three- year reconstruction plan which

predates Eurovision. But what of Jamal, the man who sang about it? A

couple of months ago, he was on stage at a youth rally. Secret

police were in the crowd. A stranger heckled him to stop

This is 10 days in prison? Yes. says they tortured him and gave him

He has already fled the country. Stories like that have made the

organisers feel uneasy. How important is it for the EBU to

champion free speech? Every important, absolutely one of the

core values, because without freedom of expression you on not

able to fulfil the core remit. Azerbaijan does not respect free

speech, does it? No, it doesn't. This video Broca was sentenced to

two years in jail for satirising the regime -- blogger. His story

begins with the bill for two donkeys, which in agriculture

minister claimed cost 42,000 euros each. How much would it donkey

normally be? In Azerbaijan? 50 bucks! Rheumatic court that the

payments were a kick back and so Adnan made a satirical video --

rumours took hold. I thought if this donkey cost 42,000 euros, it

must be something special. He can probably play the violin and speak

five languages and has two degrees, what have you, so we put together

this mock press conference with the donkey. But someone in the regime

did not share his sense of humour. Two weeks later, this happened in a

restaurant. Two athletes approached us out of nowhere, shouted at us,

using profane language, and started beating us. They head-butted my

friend, he fell to the ground. When I tried to support him, they

started to beat me down. attackers were released but Adnan

and his friend ended up here, accused of assault in a Baku

courtroom in what was a thinly disguised political trial for two

satirists who had mocked the regime. First of all they dismissed most of

our witnesses, they dismissed our evidence on some baseless grounds.

After that, they made all the policemen come and testify against

us. He served 17 months in jail. The government says it is emerging

from the shadow of its Soviet past. And free speech is guaranteed under

the constitution. We are only 20 years old. Definitely, 20 years is

not much time. I don't say we are perfect, everything is perfect. We

do have problems of course. remains one of the 40 most corrupt

countries in the world. This is the reality for many. Groom poverty,

meagre pensions, poor sanitation -- grim poverty. Health-service

dominated by a culture of bribes. Its oil wealth remains in the hands

In public places, people refuse to speak to us about the Aliyev regime,

It is a mafia state. And two runs the Mafia? I would say it is the

president and his family. -- who runs the Mafia?

Khadija Ismailova specialises in investigating the ruling family's

welfare. In the run-up to Eurovision, it seems she has paid a

heavy price. One day, she received this in the post. And inside the

envelope there was a small note on And six peaches. -- pictures. They

were taken from video footage and they were showing me engaged in

sexual relations. How had they managed to take the pictures?

planted a camera into my bedroom. They had been watching me.

waiting for something that they could effectively blackmail you

with? Yes, that is what happened. The video was published on a

website. By that time she and her friends inspected the flat, the

secret cameras had gone. Only drill halls and wiring remains. It was

shocking. The first thing I discovered, I am very angry. And

the anger was bigger than fear. It was big event anything. The first

thing I did, I told myself, this is not going to affect my work.

President Aliyev draws an official salary of less than �150,000 a year,

but Panorama has discovered that his immediate family have corporate

interests in a range of companies registered in the secrecy

jurisdiction of Panama. Wherever you turn in Baku, it seems you are

never too far away from the financial tentacles of the ruling

family. Even when you use the phone, the president's daughters are

listed as directors of companies linked to one of the main telephone

networks. If you wanted to buy gold, the president's daughters might

help you out again because they have acquired a financial stake in

a gold mine in the west of the country. The smartest hotel in Baku,

one of the people behind it is the president's 15-year-old son. He

also bought property on the luxury Palm Island development in Dubai.

Worth $40 million. Not bad for a schoolboy. Were you embarrassed at

all when you heard that the president's son has some real

estate on the Dubai Palm? I don't believe in everything that is in

the newspapers, frankly speaking. The family of President Aliyev have

Fyvie is companies based in Panama and I am struggling to understand

the connection between Panama and Azerbaijan, have various companies.

I do not have that information. this a delicate area to discuss?

Definitely, because I am not a member of the family. I cannot

answer the issues related to the family. The family refused to

answer these questions. Becky, Engel bird has been on the

publicity trail -- back in the UK, Engelbert has been on the publicity

trail. We wanted to ask him how he felt about the human rights record

in Azerbaijan but his management seemed keen that he should not

speak to us. I am from the BBC and I wanted to

know what it means for you to be representing your country. I am

just excited. I love the idea. have got a plane to catch. Are you

worried there is a danger of being seen to endorse the regime? I am

not worried about anything. As a Eurovision contest and, perhaps you

would not expect him to comment on politics. The organisers how were

they insist they are not endorsing the regime or the way it behaves,

just playing by the rules. We will see what is coming on in Azerbaijan

and it for probably improve because of the Eurovision Song Contest, so

that is the good part, but why are we going with it to Azerbaijan?

Because it is according to the rules. The Eurovision has for the

moment allowed us to pull back the curtain on this regime but the

question is, what will happen once the cameras have gone? Next week: