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"REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS" CALLS ON FRANCOIS HOLLANDE TO RAISE PRESS FREEDOM ISSUE DURING MEETING WITH ALIYEV
15:42, 27 October, 2014
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS: Secretary-General of "Reporters
without Borders" non-profit organisation Christophe Deloire has sent
an open letter to French President Francois Hollande.
In the letter he calls on President Hollande to pay attention to
the pressures and violence committed against journalists during his
meeting with Ilham Aliyev, Armenpress reports citing Contact.az.
"Reporters Without Borders, an organization that defends freedom of
information, would like to draw your attention to the desperate state
of independent media and journalists in Azerbaijan, whose president,
Ilham Aliyev, you will receive on 27 October.
The authorities are cracking down in an unprecedented manner on both
professional and non-professional journalists in Azerbaijan, which
is ranked 160th out of 180 countries in ourlatest press freedom index.
Thanks to a biased regulatory agency, self-censorship and manipulation
of the advertising market, the government has complete control of the
broadcast media. The net is also closing on the handful of independent
newspapers that struggle to survive. One of them, Zerkalo, wasforced
to stop producing a print edition in May. Azadlig is being throttled
by astronomical damages awards and is now close to collapse.
With no fewer than 13 journalist and bloggers unjustly detained,
Azerbaijan is now the European continent's biggest prison for news
providers.
The state of health of some of them, such as Khural editor in chief
Avaz Zeynalli, is worrying. Sham trials that respect neither legal
procedures nor defence rights are common. Outspoken journalists,
citizen-journalists and bloggers are subjected to all sorts of
intimidation including threats, physical attacks, blackmail and
smear campaigns.
These threats have forced many independent journalists to flee
Azerbaijan but the regime's persecution now extends beyond its
borders. Rauf Mirkadyrov, a well-known reporter and columnist based
in Turkey, was extradited back to Azerbaijan on 18 April and was
immediately jailed on a trumped-up charge of spying for Armenia.
This past summer, the regime also began cracking down on NGOs that
support news media and defend freedom of information - NGOs such as
Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety, Media Rights Institute
and IREX. It has frozen bank accounts, raided their offices and forced
their representatives into exile or silence. Most have had no choice
but to suspend operations.
The regime's drive to eliminate all media pluralism undermines the
rule of law and the fight against corruption, without which it is
hard to regard Azerbaijan as a reliable partner. Regardless of the
economic and strategic advantages of a relationship between France and
Azerbaijan, a frank dialogue between partners must not ignore freedom
of information, a freedom guaranteed by Azerbaijan's constitution
and international treaties.
We therefore ask you to clearly raise this issue with your Azerbaijani
counterpart during his visit to Paris and to request the release of
the jailed journalists and bloggers. We respectfully also urge you
to point out to President Aliyev that his government's violations of
freedom of information are incompatible with closer relations between
Paris and Baku, as they are incompatible with Azerbaijan's presidency
of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
We thank you in advance for the attention you give to our requests,"
the letter reads.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/781593/%E2%80%9Creporters-without-borders%E2%80%9D-calls-on-fran%C3%A7ois-hollande-to-raise-press-freedom-issue-during-meeting.html
15:42, 27 October, 2014
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS: Secretary-General of "Reporters
without Borders" non-profit organisation Christophe Deloire has sent
an open letter to French President Francois Hollande.
In the letter he calls on President Hollande to pay attention to
the pressures and violence committed against journalists during his
meeting with Ilham Aliyev, Armenpress reports citing Contact.az.
"Reporters Without Borders, an organization that defends freedom of
information, would like to draw your attention to the desperate state
of independent media and journalists in Azerbaijan, whose president,
Ilham Aliyev, you will receive on 27 October.
The authorities are cracking down in an unprecedented manner on both
professional and non-professional journalists in Azerbaijan, which
is ranked 160th out of 180 countries in ourlatest press freedom index.
Thanks to a biased regulatory agency, self-censorship and manipulation
of the advertising market, the government has complete control of the
broadcast media. The net is also closing on the handful of independent
newspapers that struggle to survive. One of them, Zerkalo, wasforced
to stop producing a print edition in May. Azadlig is being throttled
by astronomical damages awards and is now close to collapse.
With no fewer than 13 journalist and bloggers unjustly detained,
Azerbaijan is now the European continent's biggest prison for news
providers.
The state of health of some of them, such as Khural editor in chief
Avaz Zeynalli, is worrying. Sham trials that respect neither legal
procedures nor defence rights are common. Outspoken journalists,
citizen-journalists and bloggers are subjected to all sorts of
intimidation including threats, physical attacks, blackmail and
smear campaigns.
These threats have forced many independent journalists to flee
Azerbaijan but the regime's persecution now extends beyond its
borders. Rauf Mirkadyrov, a well-known reporter and columnist based
in Turkey, was extradited back to Azerbaijan on 18 April and was
immediately jailed on a trumped-up charge of spying for Armenia.
This past summer, the regime also began cracking down on NGOs that
support news media and defend freedom of information - NGOs such as
Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety, Media Rights Institute
and IREX. It has frozen bank accounts, raided their offices and forced
their representatives into exile or silence. Most have had no choice
but to suspend operations.
The regime's drive to eliminate all media pluralism undermines the
rule of law and the fight against corruption, without which it is
hard to regard Azerbaijan as a reliable partner. Regardless of the
economic and strategic advantages of a relationship between France and
Azerbaijan, a frank dialogue between partners must not ignore freedom
of information, a freedom guaranteed by Azerbaijan's constitution
and international treaties.
We therefore ask you to clearly raise this issue with your Azerbaijani
counterpart during his visit to Paris and to request the release of
the jailed journalists and bloggers. We respectfully also urge you
to point out to President Aliyev that his government's violations of
freedom of information are incompatible with closer relations between
Paris and Baku, as they are incompatible with Azerbaijan's presidency
of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
We thank you in advance for the attention you give to our requests,"
the letter reads.
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/781593/%E2%80%9Creporters-without-borders%E2%80%9D-calls-on-fran%C3%A7ois-hollande-to-raise-press-freedom-issue-during-meeting.html