Vice-President of European Commission complains about ban to visit imprisoned journalists in Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani authorities have agreed to the call of the joint mission of the OSCE, Council of Europe and European Union to release journalists and activists, arrested for their statements. However, today, representatives of international organizations were not allowed to visit imprisoned journalists and activists. This was reported by Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Digital Agenda, at the press conference in Baku.

The joint mission of the OSCE, Council of Europe and European Union visited Azerbaijan in connection with the Global Forum on Internet Governance (IGF), held in Baku on November 6-9. Apart from Neelie Kroes, Baku was also visited by Nils Muizhnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Special Representative on Freedom of the Media.

In the morning of November 7, Neelie Kroes had a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev. "I have stressed the importance of free access to the Internet. The President has said that Azerbaijan has a completely free Internet," Neelie Kroes said. She has noted that, however, "much remains to be done" in that direction.

Neelie Kroes has stressed that "people should have not only freedom of expression, assembly, and thought, but also freedom not to be punished for that." "And if people are afraid of the consequences of what has been said, it is just a simulation of democracy," she said.

Neelie Kroes said that at the meeting with Ilham Aliev, she raised the issue for release of arrested journalists and Internet activists, and local and international organizations in Azerbaijan called for that prior to the in the IGF. According to Neelie Kroes, the President of Azerbaijan gave consent to that. "However, today, when we have come to the place of detention of the imprisoned journalists and activists, the head of the detention facility did not let us enter it," Neelie Kroes said.

The Vice-President of the European Commission has expressed her surprise at the non-observance of instructions of the President. "This is not possible in democratic states," she said.