Seminar on the theme: "Freedom of information and privacy"

 There should be a  fair balnce between the  Articles 8 (respect for private and family life) and the Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. This was the leitmotif of the seminar organized on March 30 in a joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Union "Freedom of expression and media in Azerbaijan." The event was attended by representatives of the Council of Europe banking offices, EU, international and local experts,  and journalists.

"Journalists should distribute information without fearing for life,  journalist is  the guarantor of the public's right to information and  also a defender of human rights. In this sense, it is important to  follow compliance  of the  Article 8 and 10 of the European Convention," the expert said Europe Sovert David Goldberg.

Representaive of the  Press Council Mushfig Aleskerli said that  over 15 years this structure has received more than 700 complaints. Of these, 5%  are related to the violation of personal and family life, 30-35% - of business reputation.

 "I know that here journalists work under very difficult conditions. You provide the public's right to information. Several journalists were released before Novruz. I hope that all journalists would be released, but they can not be arrested," said Goldberg. He noted the need to distinguish between defamation and privacy protection.

"Defamation - this is not the correct information, it is information about  personal life,  and even if it is true, it must not  be disseminated. There should be specific principles of the spread of such information of public importance," said the expert. Further,  practical trainings were conducted  in various  workshops. -03C-