OSCE media freedom representative deplores latest imprisonments of journalists for defamation in Azerbaijan, calls for urgent reform

VIENNA, 14 October - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti condemned today recent criminal defamation trials in Azerbaijan which resulted in the conviction of five journalists, with two receiving prison sentences. Haraszti said he had expressed his concern about the convictions in a letter to Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

"These convictions have exacerbated the legal persecution of media workers in Azerbaijan in the recent years. There are five imprisoned journalists in Azerbaijan, the highest number in the OSCE region," he said.Chief editor Sardar Alibayli and correspondent Faramaz Allahverdiyev of Nota newspaper lost an appeal in Baku on 8 October, and must serve sentences of three months' imprisonment for defamation. Another correspondent of Nota, Ramiz Tagiyev, was sentenced to six months suspended imprisonment for the same offence.In a separate case, a Baku court convicted the chief of Fanat.az website, Zahid Azamat, and a staff member, Natig Mukhtarly, for defamation. They were sentenced to six months and one year of corrective labour respectively."I call on your Government to review the latest sentences against the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, which in no case has approved imprisonment of journalists for professional mistakes," said Haraszti in the letter to Minister Mammadyarov.

"I ask the Government of Azerbaijan to start the reform process to decriminalize defamation completely. It is high time that Azerbaijan stopped launching such discreditable cases once and for all."

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/item/40750.html

OSCE media freedom representative calls on Azerbaijan to improve media freedom, hopes detained bloggers may be released soon

BAKU, 10 September 2009 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, criticized the continued imprisonment of media workers in Azerbaijan on "trumped-up charges" and called for the repeal of recently imposed restrictive media regulations, but added that he hoped statements made by the authorities in meetings signal that these trends will be reversed. "The case of the two bloggers, Emin Abdullayev (Milli) and Adnan Hajizade, charged with hooliganism, demonstrates that law enforcement has not yet given up producing undue accusations against critically-minded media workers," said Haraszti following meetings in Baku. He also referred to the cases of Eynulla Fatullayev and Ganimat Zahidov, whom he visited in prison. The two are Azerbaijan's best known independent newspaper editors who are serving long prison terms on charges such as terrorism, tax evasion and hooliganism.During his visit Haraszti, together with Ambassador Bilge Cankorel, the Head of OSCE Office in Baku, met Ali Hasanov, the head of the Public and Political Issues Department of the Presidential Administration, Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mammad-Guliyevand and Commissioner for Human Rights Elmira Suleymanova."In my meetings with officials, I was assured that defamation will soon be decriminalized. I was also encouraged to hear that the presidential administration shares my concerns about the bloggers' case. I welcome these statements, and hope that Abdullayev and Hajizade may be released soon," Haraszti said.

"For Azerbaijan to improve its media freedom record, law enforcement should be firmly instructed to protect journalists instead of endangering them through harassment and trumped-up charges."Haraszti stressed that urgent improvement was also needed regarding the ban imposed earlier this year on the BBC, Radio Free Europe and Voice of America from accessible FM waves, which gravely diminishes pluralism, and to new media law amendments which gave the government extended rights to interfere with the press.Haraszti also urged authorities to release imprisoned journalists and publicly disclose information on the state of the investigation into the 2005 murder of investigative journalist Elmar Huseynov.

During his visit to Baku, Haraszti and Ambassador Cankorel also presented the Azerbaijani edition of the Media Self-regulation Guidebook, published by the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/item/39507.html

Latest murder of journalist in Russia underlines need for government action, says OSCE media freedom representative

OSCE

VIENNA, 13 August 2009 - The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, condemned today the murder of newspaper editor Abdulmalik Akhmedilov in Makhachkala, Dagestan on 11 August, and reiterated his call to Russia's highest authorities to assume responsibility in combating violence against the free press."The government must publicly acknowledge that the campaign against journalists and human rights activists in the Russian Federation is intolerable," Haraszti wrote in a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Akhmedilov was a deputy editor of the Makhachkala-based daily Hakikat (The Truth) and the chief editor of the political monthly Sogratl. He had criticized federal and local law enforcement officials for violating human rights and fundamental freedoms in the context of the fight against extremism. In the last month alone, several journalists and civil society activists have been kidnapped and killed."It is unavoidable to take to task the highest levels of law enforcement that proved unable to resolve earlier cases," Haraszti said in the letter. "An action plan must be presented to the public that would put an end to this human rights crisis which continues to claim lives."

Haraszti offered his condolences to Akhmedilov's family.

OSCE media freedom watchdog urges Czech President to veto criminal provisions curtailing media freedom

OSCE Press Release
February 11

The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, today called on Czech President Vaclav Klaus to veto the draft criminal code and request Parliament to change provisions that threaten media freedom.

Haraszti objected to the code's provision that could sentence journalists to up to five years in prison and a fine of up to five million crowns for the publication of conversations wiretapped by the police. He also criticized the code for failing to decriminalize defamation.

On 5 February, the Czech Chamber of Deputies approved the new Criminal Code with a new ban on disclosing conversations wiretapped by the police unless they were used as evidence in court, despite the Senate's opposition.

"The provision does not acknowledge several international media freedom standards," Haraszti wrote in a letter to the President. "It does not allow for sanctions to be lifted in cases where the published information turns out to be of public importance. Without such a clause, there can be no efficient fight, inter alia, against corruption."

Haraszti was also critical of the draft law's failure to differentiate between the liability of state officials who leak information and the liability of civilians, including journalists.

"Unfortunately, such lack of differentiation is still widespread in post-Communist democracies. Democratization should remove this remnant of past enslavement of the citizen to the state," he added.

"Without disclaimers securing society's right to receive and distribute legitimate public-interest information, the Criminal Code can make media freedom insecure, and judiciary will not protect the fearless debate of important subjects," he wrote.

In addition, he expressed disappointment that the Criminal Code missed the unique opportunity to decriminalize defamation during this legislative reform, and argued that such cases should be dealt with in civil, not criminal, courts.

"A 21st-century Criminal Code in Europe should not preserve crimes that have proven to be incompatible with the modern concept of free speech," Haraszti warned. "They are also at odds with the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights, and even with the practice of the Czech Constitutional Court."

Haraszti asked President Klaus to request that the Czech Parliament revise the Criminal Code to bring its amendments in line with European media freedom standards and OSCE commitments.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/item/36245.html

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