Azerbaijani journalists hold a rally against draft law “On Media”

The draft law “On Media” will further aggravate the repression against freedom of speech in Azerbaijan, protesters say. They demanded to create a working group to represent the civil society in order to re-discuss the draft law.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 14, the Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis (parliament) adopted the draft law “On Media”, which drew serious criticism from journalists and experts. Eight parties called on the President of Azerbaijan to stop the passage of the law.

Today, about 15 Azerbaijani journalists, mostly young women, have held a protest rally in front of the Milli Majlis in Baku. Investigative journalist Khadidja Ismayilova demanded to stop discussing the draft law “On Media”. According to her, the draft law “completely contradicts the principle of freedom of speech and press.”

“We demand to stop discussing the draft law until the articles restricting the activities of independent media are removed from it,” Khadidja Ismayilova said as quoted by the “Meydan.TV” website.

The police used force to push the protesters away from the parliament building, one of the participants, who was recording a video, fell to the ground. The journalists were not allowed to raise their posters.

The protesters note that the draft law “On Media” will exacerbate repressions against freedom of speech in Azerbaijan. Furthermore, the draft law gives the state broad opportunities to determine who exactly can be engaged in journalism.