US Secretary of State recommends Azerbaijani authorities to release arrested journalists

Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, called on the Azerbaijani authorities to respect human rights and democratic freedoms of citizens and release the journalists arrested "for their publications and activists convicted for their participating in public demonstrations."

On June 6, at the press conference following her visit to Azerbaijan, Hillary Clinton reported that one of the topics of her talks with Elmar Mamedyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, was the issues of strengthening civil society. According to her, "the presence of a strong civil society is a key to long-term development and prosperity of Azerbaijan."

At the same time, the US Secretary of State welcomed release of activist Bakhtiyar Gadjiev, the graduate of the Harvard University, who was released prior her visit to Azerbaijan and whom she met in Baku. Hillary Clinton stated that she had talks with a number of other activists.

In his turn, when asked to comment on criticism of the US State Department's recent report on the freedom of expression in Azerbaijan, Elmar Mamedyarov, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, emphasized that "the issues of human rights cannot be solved overnight." "This is a long-term process and it goes on," stated the Minister.