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CPJ Blasts Azerbaijan Over Trampling Press Freedom, Blacklist

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  • CPJ Blasts Azerbaijan Over Trampling Press Freedom, Blacklist

    CPJ BLASTS AZERBAIJAN OVER TRAMPLING PRESS FREEDOM, BLACKLIST

    February 14, 2014 - 15:12 AMT

    PanARMENIAN.Net - The Committee to Protect Journalists(CPJ) released
    its annual Attacks on the Press report, slamming Azerbaijan for
    oppressing journalists and blacklisting visitors to the Nagorno
    Karabakh Republic.

    "As Azerbaijan prepared to assume the 2014 chairmanship of the Council
    of Europe--the largest European intergovernmental human rights and
    democracy organization--the authoritarian regime of President Ilham
    Aliyev shamelessly trampled on press freedom at home. The authorities
    continued to stifle critical voices, target free expression on the Web,
    and sentence reporters to lengthy prison terms. A local journalist
    was barred from leaving the country to pick up his journalism prize
    in Norway, while dozens of foreign media personnel were declared
    persona non grata in Azerbaijan," the Committee notes in the report.

    "The harassment, including by the government-affiliated press, of
    investigative journalist Khadija Ismailova went unpunished. Aliyev
    extended criminal defamation laws to the Internet and tightened
    funding restrictions for domestic NGOs, including press freedom
    organizations, despite a domestic and international outcry. In June,
    European Commission President José Manuel Barroso offered Aliyev
    public support instead of holding the leader responsible for human
    rights and press freedom violations in his country. In October,
    the authoritarian leader was re-elected to his third term after
    the Central Elections Commission denied registration to opposition
    candidate Rustam Ibragimbekov," the report said.

    "After a June travel ban on photojournalist Mehman Huseynov, which
    prevented him from accepting an international journalism award
    in Norway, Azerbaijan's foreign ministry issued a list of foreign
    nationals--among them 67 journalists and media workers--who are barred
    from entering the country," the report stressed.

    On August 2, Azeri Foreign Ministry published the notorious blacklist,
    which includes Slovak politician FrantiÅ~_ek MikloÅ~_ko, Argentinean
    parliamentarian Jose Arbo, Russian expert Andrey Areshev, Baroness
    Caroline Cox, opera star Montserrat Caballé and many other famous
    personalities.

    http://www.cpj.org/ru/2014/02/-2013-7.php

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