Mehman Aliyev among 18 nominees for 2017 Press Freedom Prize

Paris/26.10.17/Turan: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and TV5-Monde will award their 2017 Press Freedom Prize on 7 November. The ceremony will be held as part of the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg and there will be three laureates, a journalist, a citizen-journalist and a media outlet.

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There are 18 nominees this year, 18 journalists, citizen-journalists and media outlets that were chosen by RSF"s staff on the basis of their courage, professionalism, independence and commitment to media freedom. Three of them will receive the RSF-TV5 Monde Press Freedom Prize in Strasbourg on 7 November.

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Mehman Aliyev is nominated in the "Journalist" category.

Mehman Aliyev is one of the pioneers of journalism and the fight for independent reporting in Azerbaijan. Resisting Soviet censorship, he and a few friends created the Turan news agency in May 1990. A generation later, Turan is the only remaining independent media outlet in a country ranked 162nd out of 180 in RSF"s World Press Freedom Index. Producing dispatches in three languages, Turan has become an essential news source thanks to the professionalism of its reporters, who don't hesitate to cover even the most sensitive subjects. The escalating repression finally caught up with Mehman Aliyev in August of this year when he was jailed, and Turan was forced to suspend operations. Thanks to international pressure, he was freed three weeks later and he is now eager to resume his work with his team, whatever it takes.

The annual RSF-TV5 Monde Prize has been drawing attention to the importance of the freedom to inform since 1992 by honouring journalists and media outlets that have made a noteworthy contribution to the defence or promotion of this freedom. Each award comes with 2,500 euros in prize money. -0-