Алескер Мамедли
Baku / 11.06.19 / Turan: The defamation charges are connected with forcing the country and restricting the freedom of expression, said media law expert Alesker Mammadli in an interview with "Voice of America" commenting on the recent cases of lawsuits in Azerbaijan on charges of defamation.
According to him, recently there has been a relatively free atmosphere in social networks. However, this is partial freedom, since there are restrictions on freedom of expression at the legislative level.
So, in the 4th article of the Criminal Code of the country amended, providing for punishment for expressions on the Internet. The government uses this, in spite of calls from international organizations to de-criminalize defamation. Moreover, now the authorities have spread these restrictions on the Internet.
In 2011, the President of Azerbaijan approved the Program of National Actions to Ensure Human Rights and Freedoms. Paragraph 1.7 of this document provided for the decriminalization of defamation and the removal of the relevant articles from the Criminal Code.
At the same time, the Press Council, with the support of the OSCE, developed a draft law. However, the document was not adopted. Moreover, in 205, the Criminal Code was supplemented with articles on criminal liability for defamation on the Internet.
Recently, the Minister of Health filed a lawsuit against the journalist. 80-90% of such claims are filed by officials, Mammadov said. Preservation in the Criminal Code of punishment for defamation restrains the media and is used to punish unwanted journalists. As a result, in terms of freedom of media, Azerbaijan ranks the 166th among non-free countries.
The way out of the situation, according to Mammadli, in the state"s refusal to interfere in the media sector. That is, the state should not be a player in the media market. State media should not be at all.
Direct and indirect state subsidies to the media sector are about 100 million manat. A free media environment should be created: access to information should be expanded, pressure on journalists should be stopped, administrative obstacles for their work removed, a free advertising market created, Mammadli said. -03B06-
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