Azerbaijan amends rules on access to information

The Azerbaijani parliament has passed legislation stipulating that government agencies will provide information to citizens only if it does not run counter to the country`s political, economic or military interests.

MP Ali Huseynli, who presented a bill on relevant amendments to the Law on Access to Information, said during discussions in the legislature that the goal was not to keep any information confidential, but to ``more precisely indicate the frames of journalists` right to acquire information``.

``The provision we proposed does not restrict the right to obtain information, and on the contrary, outlines its broader frames,`` Huseynli commented. He added that the changes to the law fully comply with respective provisions of Azerbaijan`s Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the documents of the Council of Europe, European Parliament and European Commission.