Emin Milli and Turgut Gambar are new Internet-dissidents

The Expression Online Coalition (EOC) strongly condemns the Azerbaijan’s government crackdown on the Internet freedom after the regime sentenced a well known blogger Emin Milli and other civil society activists to the administrative detention and ordered them to pay huge fines for organizing a peaceful protest via Facebook.

As such, based on the Article 298.1  of the Administrative Error Code, the court sentenced Emin Milli to 15 days of administrative detention and imposed 2,500 AZN(2.348 EUR) fine  on youth activist Turgut Gambar, for using Facebook to make calls for participation in the opposition protest held in the center of Baku on January 26, 2013. 

The court decision states that the activists, who are accused of making calls on Facebook, placed “illegal” appeals on Facebook and invited citizens to take part in illegal protest and procession. The activists reiterated in their testimonies and at court hearings that they did nothing illegal by disseminating invitations on Facebook for participation in peaceful protest and that on the contrary, this right is given to them by the Constitution of Azerbaijani Republic. 

 ‘There is a contradiction between these restrictions on the freedom of internet and the repeated statements of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that internet is completely free in Azerbaijan’, said Emin Huseynov.

The Expression Online Coalition believes that such actions can indirectly lead to self-censorship among internet users. 

The Expression Online Coalition calls on the government to ensure Azerbaijan upholds international standards regarding the right to freedom of expression and this right is respected and guaranteed both offline and online. The coalition calls on the government to guarantee unlimited Internet access and communication for every citizen of Azerbaijan. —06D—