Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend , corr S.Agayeva / Herrero Ansola, Head of the Baku Office of OSCE said in a meeting of journalists that the Azerbaijan Government should reconsider the law on Freedom of Assembly and OSCE will increase its attention on this issue on the eve of the presidential elections.
There are serious technical gaps within this law and they are linked with the authorities in sanctioning rallies and pickets, which are currently held by the local executive bodies. OSCE expressed to the Government its dissatisfaction of this issue which will become more prevalent on the eve of the elections.
The Head of the OSCE Office in Baku voiced its willingness to offer technical assistance in continuing discussions between the authorities and the opposition. Ansola said that the situation with the freedom of word and court hearings in Azerbaijan is the focus of OSCE. "We submitted recommendations to the Government with respect to ensuring freedom of word and are waiting for decisive steps from them in this regard," the diplomat stressed.