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Baku hosts conference â€œDecriminalization of defamation through legislative reformsâ€

11 May 2011 07:52 (UTC +04:00)

According to APA, head of the OSCE Office in Baku Ali Bilge Cankorel said freedom of media and expression is one of the OSCE basic principles. â€œWe are happy to support this initiative together with the Press Council of Azerbaijan todayâ€.

â€œThe OSCE welcomes the steps of Azerbaijani government toward the decriminalization of defamationâ€, said OSCE Representative on freedom of media Dunja Mijatovic. She regretted that the state of freedom of speech in 56 member countries of the OSCE is not heartwarming. â€œThe initiative of decriminalization of defamation is a good example for cooperation with Azerbaijanâ€.

Dunja Mijatovic underlined that pressure on journalists is not acceptable. â€œThe journalists have also to be responsible for their work as other specialists. Undoubtedly hey have to be professionals, but it is not acceptable to arrest the journalists for their professional activity. The officials should be tolerant toward the journalists. Every country is unique and it needs in time to solve such problemsâ€.

The OSCE official reminded about Eynulla Fatullayev, who is in jail, and said she met him yesterday. â€œIt is necessary to end the practice of arrest of journalists as soon as possibleâ€.

Head of the public policy department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov said more pluralist atmosphere has been formed in media in recent years. He said the law on defamation would not free the journalists from the responsibility. â€œThere are some journalists, who write at first and then think about what they wrote. This law will make the journalists and media organizations more responsible. It is important to improve the professional experience of the journalists working in mass mediaâ€.

Human Right Commissioner of Azerbaijan Elmira Suleymanova, representatives of the civil society and mass media, diplomats accredited in Azerbaijan, international experts are attending the conference.