Participants of forum in support of the freedom of speech in Azerbaijan call to release Fatullaev and bloggers

Today, the Baku-based Business Centre "Landmark" has hosted a conference held within the forum of public support of the freedom of speech and expression in Azerbaijan. Its participants have called to release journalist Fatullaev and bloggers Milli and Gadjizade.

Let us remind you that the three-day "Forum of public support of the freedom of speech and expression" in Baku began on September 7. The event of this sort, organized by a number of journalistic organizations and mass media of Azerbaijan, is held in the country for the first time.

The event is also attended by the international mission comprising representatives of the world journalistic and human rights organizations.

The audience listened and saw a number of welcoming video addresses of the leaders of some international organizations, including Franc La Rua, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on the freedom of expression and information, and Miklos Haraszti, former special representative of the OSCE on the freedom of mass media. These presentations reiterated the need to abolish criminal liability in Azerbaijan for defamation and urged the authorities to immediately release imprisoned journalist Einullah Fatullaev and bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Gadjizade.

The conference announced the decision to award the first prize "For the freedom of expression" of the Forum to the late editor-in-chief of the "Monitor" magazine Elmar Guseinov, assassinated on March 2, 2005, at the door of his flat. The laureate was defined by those journalists who suffered themselves for the freedom of speech and expression.