Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr A. Gasymova / By its merciless persecution of journalists Azerbaijan hinders media security, which is the main principle of OSCE, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of Media, Miklos Haraszti, stated.
Haraszti was horrified by the news regarding the detention of two more journalists for calumny.
The Yasamal District Court sentenced Rovshan Kabirli, the editor of the opposition Mukhalifat newspaper, and a correspondent of the newspaper, Yashar Aghazadeh, on 16 May to two and a half years imprisonment. The journalists are accused of calumny against MP Jalal Aliyev.
The OSCE Representative noted that Azerbaijan was the most dangerous place for media among the OSCE countries. "I am sorry to see Azerbaijan receding from international standards, especially after 2005 when the President called for people to disregard any rumours or false press that came out of the media. It seems that the call was followed only a year," Haraszti said. He expressed his hope that the officials will eventually realize that the only way ahead can be achieved solely through stopping the criminal persecution of journalists.