Azerbaijani authorities reject international criticism of bloggers' conviction

The official Baku has rejected the international criticism in relation to conviction in Azerbaijan of two young bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Gadjizade to imprisonment for hooliganism.

"The judicial system in Azerbaijan is independent, and the executive power cannot influence it's decisions. Azerbaijan is in European legal space, and the convicts dissatisfied with the verdict may address the European Court on Human Rights," Ali Gasanov, head of the public-political department of the Administration of the President of Azerbaijan, said in his conversation with journalists today.

He has treated the criticism of western entities of the verdict passed to the bloggers as prejudiced.

"The laws of Azerbaijan are applied equally to everyone and make no distinctions between those who are closer to the West and all the others. Maybe for the West they are bloggers and intellectuals, but they are equally covered by the law," said Mr Gasanov.

In her turn, Veronica Kotek, special representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Baku, said today that Strasbourg is planning to go on discussing the bloggers' fate with the authorities of Azerbaijan.

Ms Kotek has emphasized the must to stop any criminal prosecution of journalists and other persons for the freedom of self-expression.