OSCE Media Freedom Representative Protests Sentence Handed Down To I

OSCE MEDIA FREEDOM REPRESENTATIVE PROTESTS SENTENCE HANDED DOWN TO INTERNET JOURNALISTS IN AZERBAIJAN

AZG DAILY
14-11-2009

Media freedom

Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media,
described November 11 sentencing of two Azerbaijani bloggers to prison
terms on charges of alleged hooliganism and infliction of light bodily
injuries as political.

"These new imprisonments cement Azerbaijan’s image as the pre-eminent
jailer of journalists in the OSCE region. Five journalists are
currently in prison, several of them on clearly trumped-up charges
following organized provocations and unfair trials," Haraszti wrote
in a letter to Elmar Mammadyarov, the country’s Foreign Minister.

A court sentenced Emin Milli, an ANTV Online TV blogger and
Co-ordinator in the youth organization Alumni Network, to two and a
half years in prison, while video blogger Adnan Hajizade was sentenced
to two years in prison.

"The severity of the sentences for these young bloggers and other
journalists who have criticized the authorities, including the
President and the Interior Minister, is self-revealingly political,"
Haraszti said.

Among journalists imprisoned in Azerbaijan are Eynulla Fatullayev
and Ganimat Zahidov, the two best known chief editors who are serving
prolonged prison sentences on charges observers argue are fabricated.

"I hope that the appeals court will reverse the decision and
release Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizade as soon as possible. This
will demonstrate to the international community that Azerbaijan takes
seriously the OSCE media freedom commitments it has taken upon itself,"
Haraszti said, according to the OSCE official website.