Azernews.Az

BAKU – OSCE media freedom chief Dunja Mijatovic said Friday at the end of a first visit to Azerbaijan that it "gives her hope", citing some progress achieved in the country on media freedom in the past year and a half.

"Government officials assured me at a conference on decriminalization of defamation in Baku two days ago that work was underway to pass a relevant draft law. But I said that the main work will begin after the law is adopted," Mijatovic told a news conference in Baku.

During her four-day visit, the OSCE official held meetings with the Azerbaijani president, ministers of foreign and internal affairs, the ombudsperson, heads of the media watchdog Press Council and broadcasting body National Television and Radio Council, as well as journalists and NGO representatives. Mijatovic also called on the jailed Azerbaijani newspaper editor Eynulla Fatullayev.

Mijatovic said she welcomed President Ilham Aliyev’s assurances that there would be absolute internet freedom in Azerbaijan.

"Unfortunately, we are not seeing the same situation in all OSCE member states. In some of the countries, steps are being taken to block or restrict the free flow of information via the Web," she said.

Mijatovic said the Azerbaijani government is putting forward its will to cooperate with the OSCE. At the same time, she said, some efforts should be made to further promote pluralism in the country.

"Journalists should enjoy the right to freely cover any topics without fear. This applies not only to Azerbaijan but also all other [member] countries."

Mijatovic said that in her official meetings she discussed the case of Eynulla Fatullayev and the journalists who allegedly faced pressure over rallying public support for antigovernment protests. The OSCE media freedom representative said officials had pledged that the cases of the detainees would be resolved soon and efforts made to further improve media freedom in the country.

"I am delighted with Azerbaijan’s positive approach on the matter. But if I see that no measures have been taken to improve media freedom, I will appeal to the world community over this. I hope that we will hear good news from Azerbaijan soon."