Azeri MPs ignore journalists' protests

When adopting the law "On Media", journalists' demands were ignored; and now both their rights and those of social network users are sharply restricted; and almost any post, video clip or opinion can be treated as a violation of the law, members of the journalistic community have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 30, the Milli Mejlis (Azerbaijani Parliament) adopted the law "On Media", which had sparked severe criticism of journalists and experts. On December 28, journalists held an action against the bill in Baku.

"The aim of the law is to silence independent media and make country's citizens blind, dumb and deaf, leaving them face to face with the palace media," Emil Khalil, a journalist, has stated.

"The adoption of the new law is a slap on the face not only for those who are engaged in social and political activities, but also for the entire disadvantaged class of society. They will not be able to convey their problems to the authorities through media," he has added.

Nidjat Gadjiev, a journalist, has noted that the new law prescribes obtaining licenses to open a YouTube channel with passing the registration procedure in the state registry.

"Journalists will have to more often go to court because of violations of their rights, and then seek support at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The adopted law will aggravate the position of journalists in Azerbaijan," Alesker Mamedli, a media expert, has noted.

"Reporters without Borders" (RwB) was the first international organization to react to the new media law – it has called on authorities to amend the law.