Azernews.Az

BAKU – OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic visiting Azerbaijan met with jailed journalist Eynulla Fatullayev on Tuesday, the OSCE Office in Baku said.

Fatullayev, the editor-in-chief of the Russian-language weekly Realny Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani-language daily Gundalik Azerbaijan, was sentenced in 2007 to eight-and-a-half years in prison on charges on inciting ethnic hatred, threatening terror and tax evasion. Fatullayev appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which issued a ruling to release him.

Mijatovic also discussed freedom of speech issues with civil society representatives and Aflatun Amashov, chairman of the media watchdog Press Council. The OSCE media representative also had meetings with newspaper editors and representatives of media organizations.

On Wednesday, Mijatovic will attend a conference on the decriminalization of defamation through legislative reform to be organized by the OSCE office and the Press Council. The event will discuss the importance of decriminalization of defamation in safeguarding freedom of expression and freedom of the media. Speakers will include representatives of the media, the Presidential Administration, the parliament and international legal experts. OSCE official Mijatovic will speak at the opening.