AZERBAIJAN – ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS OSCE MEMBER-STATES FOR JOURNALISTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
18.05.2007 13:32 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ OSCE representative on issues concerning free media
Miklos Haraszti condemned pressure on mass media in Azerbaijan. He
said journalism profession is not safe in Azerbaijan. "It contradicts
commitments taken in front of the OSCE.
During recent times we have fixed five cases of imprisoning
journalists. Some of them were detained in the court room as soon as
the first instance court ruled verdicts," he underlined.
Miklos Haraszti stated that Azerbaijan has turned into one of the
most dangerous OSCE member-states for journalists. "Some time ago
I had a meeting with President Aliev. I told him that the idea
of his advisers to increase discipline among journalists aimed at
forming more ethic atmosphere in this field through repression is
catastrophically wrong. Only freedom of speech and self-regulation
of the press will result in increasing professionalism. It’s a pity
that despite my calls to the President of Azerbaijan, politicians
of the country to be more tolerant towards media, Azerbaijan does
not observe international standards. I hope authorities will cancel
the article "On slander", which supposes criminal responsibility,"
the OSCE representative informed, BBC reports.