Intervention in Personal Computers of Members of European Commission Delegation

Two officials of the European Commission said that was carried out unauthorized access to the personal computer of Ryan Heath - Assistant of the Vice-President of the European Commission Neelie Kroes. They are known to have been in Baku to participate in the Seventh Forum for Internet Governance. This was reported by Radio Azadlig. According to Ryan Heath, unlawful interference with his computer was found the morning of 8 November, but it was an act of intelligence, because of the computer was not stolen any of the information. The Apple system ensures that if there is any unauthorized access, the client receives this information. According to Heath, "it is consistent with the observations that have been made by us in connection with the freedom in Azerbaijan." He called unacceptable unauthorized access to the computer at a conference related to issues of freedom and transparency.

To the question whether he blames the authorities, Heath did not express any specific charges. He added that he had arrived from Brussels to Baku to protect freedom of expression online and these hackers cannot scare him. "It's no secret that people who criticize the authorities in one form or another are subjected to pressure and harassment," said Heath.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Mushfig Amirov said he was not informed about the incident. "We heard about it ... but do not have any information," he said.

European Commission Vice-President Neelie Kroes met with President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday and expressed concern over freedom of expression in Azerbaijan. "The President said that the Internet in Azerbaijan is free. We answered that in Azerbaijan neighboring Iran entry to the Internet is free. However, it is very important to guarantee free speech. Insufficient is the only entrance to the Internet and expression of the people's thoughts. It is very important what will happen after that. Our concern is with this," said Kroes.  -02D04-