2024-07-23 05:10:02
On July 22, the national press of Azerbaijan is 149 years old. This year’s press day is remembered as the largest number of journalists jailed in the country.
Since last November, more than 10 journalists and media workers have been detained on currency smuggling charges. But they do not accept the charges, they link their arrests to their professional activities. Authorities say that no journalist in the country has been arrested for their work. However, the detained journalists and media are mostly employees of AbzasMedia, known for its investigations that expose corruption in the government, and ToplumTV, which provides alternative views on the country’s agenda to the public with its live programs for several hours a day.
Local independent journalists, international media organizations to stop the government’s intimidation tactics against journalists calls.
The journalists imprisoned in Shusha were not remembered
The number of these calls is increasing in the run-up to the COP29 climate conference in November. The authorities celebrate the National Press Day with the 2nd World Media Forum in Shusha on the theme “Exposing false information: the fight against disinformation”. At the event, which was attended by representatives of the local media and foreign guests who support the political course of the government, the head of the country was not asked about attacks on the independent media. Instead “Reuters” and “Politics” Publications such as President Aliyev’s speech at the Forum included his views on the territories under French colonial rule.
Pressure on independent media in Azerbaijan has increased in recent years. In 2014, the RFE/RL office, funded by the US Congress, was discontinued. In 2017, access to some websites from Azerbaijan was restricted. Among them are the websites of Azadliq Radio, MeydanTV and Azadliq newspapers.
On June 13 of this year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recognized that blocking the entire site for some content was a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
In 2024, Azerbaijan fell 13 places in the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index and came 164th out of 180 countries. Last year he was 151st.
For comparison, Armenia was 43rd and Georgia 103rd in the index.
On July 22, 1875, Hasan Bey Zardabi established the national press by publishing the newspaper “Akinchi”. Only 56 issues of the newspaper were published, whose activity was suspended in 1877.
At the beginning of the 20th century in Azerbaijan, newspapers and magazines such as “Ziya”, “Kashkül”, “Sharqi-rus”, “Irshad”, “Molla Nasreddin” continued the traditions of “Farmer”.
free radio,
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