PACE to report on threats to journalists and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will prepare a report on threats to the lives and safety of journalists and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan. The very process of preparing the report will help increase attention to the safety of journalists, notes Emin Guseinov, the director of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in April, the Council of Europe’s Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists released a report on the growing threats to media freedom in Azerbaijan.

Emin Guseinov, the executive director of the Azerbaijani Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), pointed to the worsening situation with the safety of journalists. “There was an attack on journalist Aiten Mamedova. Threats to bloggers abroad have intensified: a conspiracy against Tural Sadygly has been discovered in Switzerland, and an assassination attempt on Muhammad Mirzali has been prevented in France. Vidadi Iskenderov, a critic of the Azerbaijani authorities, has been attacked in France,” Emin Guseinov said.

According to Khalid Agaliev, the head of the Media Rights Group, the PACE’s decision to prepare a report on threats to journalists is an indicator of the increased attention of the Council of Europe to problems with freedom of the media in Azerbaijan.