What are the threats to freedom of the Internet in Azerbaijan?

"Threats to Internet freedom in Azerbaijan" is the name of an event which was held Friday at the Park Inn, organized by the Expression Online Initiative.

According to the coordinator of this organization Rasul Jafarov, the event aims to assess Internet freedom in the country, and is one of the stages in the campaign.

The Head of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) Emin Huseynov disagreed with the information from the Ministry of Communications that 65% of the population in Azerbaijan are Internet users. He considers the opinion of the Ministry of Communications, equating owners of mobile phones to Internet users wrong.

He also noted that the cost of Internet services in Azerbaijan remains high, even in comparison with neighboring countries Georgia and Armenia.

Elman Abbasov, a human rights activist in Nakhchivan said that in this region, the Internet is under the control of the authorities. Services of providers are of poor quality and expensive. In the remote villages the Internet is completely absent, and internet clubs are under the control of the authorities. Unwanted sites are blocked.

IRFS, jointly with the Human Rights Club and the International Media Support organization, began a campaign of "Expression Online Initiative" on the eve of the Internet Governance Forum, which will be held in Baku in November of this year. The purpose of the campaign is to find out the state of affairs in the field of the Internet and to prepare of appropriate recommendations. -26С04-