Azernews.Az

BAKU – Ahead of Azerbaijan’s upcoming parliamentary elections, nine organizations have claimed media freedom has deteriorated in the country.

The organizations, including Index on Censorship, have issued a report titled Free Expression under Attack: Azerbaijan’s Deteriorating Media Environment. The report claims that the Azerbaijani government is failing to comply with its international commitments to promote and protect freedom of expression.

"In Azerbaijan, those who attack or harass journalists do so in the knowledge that they will not be punished for their crimes," Agnes Callamard, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, maintained. "The fact that the authorities fail to conduct effective investigations into these crimes contributes significantly to the current climate of fear and vulnerability."

The report says "the deteriorating freedom of expression situation in the country" is the result of a number of dangerous trends, including the cycle of violence against journalists and impunity for those who commit these acts and the continued existence of criminal defamation provisions in domestic law. "These trends are particularly concerning in the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections, set to take place on 7 November 2010."

The report also contains the mission’s recommendations to the Azerbaijani authorities on steps to improve the freedom of expression climate in the country, including by investigating and prosecuting all acts of violence against journalists; immediately releasing the imprisoned journalists and bloggers; and decriminalizing defamation.

The report is the result of joint freedom of expression mission undertaken in September. The mission representatives met with journalists and other media workers, collected testimonies from survivors of alleged violent attacks, and family members of imprisoned journalists, and held meetings with civil society activists and government representatives.

The nine organizations that participated in the joint mission are members of the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan working towards the promotion and protection of human rights. The participating organizations included: ARTICLE 19; Freedom House; Index on Censorship; International Federation of Journalists; Media Diversity Institute; Open Society Foundations; Press Now; Reporters Without Borders; and World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.

Azerbaijani officials have dismissed the allegations, labeling such reports issued by international media organizations as an attempt by some to put pressure on Baku ahead of the parliamentary elections. The government representatives said there are no problems with freedom of expression in the country and explained some issues arising with media workers with their lack of professionalism.

During their visit to Baku in September, the mission representatives’ meeting with Presidential Administration official Ali Hasanov did not take place.