Newspaper "Azadlig" again asks for help

Baku/22.05.14/Turan : Press conference by "Azadlig" newspaper devoted to the hardships of this country 's leading opposition newspaper , was held in the Media Center .

Newspaper’s editor Rahim Hajiyev told about extremely difficult financial position edition. On the one hand , the distributor "Gasid" refuses to pay the debt 70000 manat  to the  newspaper.

On the other hand , the publishing house "Azerbaijan" demands to pay debts.

"In view of the difficult financial situation, we can not pay staff salaries for two months,"  said the editor.

The authorities prohibit street sale of newspapers , and Media Support Fund deprived the newspaper of  financial support.

"Thus, all sources of income of the newspaper  have been closed and we were actually forced to stop working as  journalists, and  they just want to oppress us," said the editor.

The debt of the publisher is 18,000 manat, and "Gasid" pays the newspaper 1,000 manat per week, which does not cover the costs.

The purpose of the press conference is to  appeal to the public with request to support the newspaper in a difficult moment . "It's  the only chance,"  said the editor .

Public figures  participating  in a press conference regarded  the position  the newspaper , as a manifestation of political pressure on the newspaper.

PFPA leader, Ali Kerimli, noted that the authorities want to present the case as the forced closure of the newspaper for economic reasons. In fact, they try to hide their role in this. The meeting participants decided to hold a charity marathon to raise funds.

This is not the first time when the authorities want to oppress the newspaper "Azadlig"  economically.  The attempts to close the paper by court fines failed, and now the authorities are trying to use the economic press. -05C-