Azerbaijani authorities will not consider the option of pardoning convicted journalists. Ali Hasanov, chief ideologue of the authorities, made this statement on the sidelines of the Congress of Journalists.
However, Hasanov noted, "if the proposal would be expressed at the Congress, it may be considered. Now some journalists and media people have been adjudicated. I believe that this issue should not be linked with the Congress. To date, most of the arrested journalists were pardoned. I wish the speedy release of the journalists that are in prison."
There are currently seven journalists in jails, who, according to the media and human rights organizations, have been arrested for political reasons. Among them there are Avaz Zeinally (chief editor of Khural), Hilal Mammadov (chief editor of Tolyshi Sado), Faramaz Allahverdiyev (freelance journalist), Fuad Huseynov (journalist from Ujar), Nijat Aliyev (religious site azadxeber.org), Araz Guliyev (religious site xeber44.com), and Tofig Yagublu (deputy chairman of the party Musavat and columnist of the newspaper Yeni Musavat). -06D-
Politics
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Armenia is not against the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, but does not consider it appropriate to discuss this issue now. "In the context of peace, we consider it possible to make a decision on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. When peace is an established fact, the existence of such a format may raise questions," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference today. "The whole question is about the timing, we need to understand how effectively and correctly to turn such topics into a subject of discussion right now," the Armenian Prime Minister added.
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He expressed his willingness to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the border between the two countries. "A meeting with Ilham Aliyev could take place at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. I am open to such a format," Pashinyan said at a press conference today. According to Pashinyan, Armenia recently presented another proposal for a peace treaty to Azerbaijan.
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On August 31, Azerbaijan observes a "day of silence" before the Sunday’s early parliamentary elections for the unicameral Milli Majlis. All electoral campaigning is prohibited 24 hours before the voting. The early elections were initiated by the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party. This decision was motivated by the overlap of the scheduled elections in November with the global UN forum - the COP20 climate conference taking place in Baku.
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On August 30, at approximately 22:55, the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant in Metsamor was disconnected from the country's power grid, as reported by the Armenian Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure. The shutdown was caused by a lightning strike, which triggered the plant's safety systems to switch the station to a safe shutdown mode. Currently, the plant's staff is working on restarting the facility.
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