Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunya Mijatović expressed concern about the situation in the field of human rights in Azerbaijan. She called unacceptable the ongoing pressure and persecution of journalists, human rights activists and representatives of civil society.
Dunja Mijatović, formerly the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, has visited Azerbaijan on several occasions. She noted that no positive changes have taken place since then, the restrictive environment remains, and the new media law introduces more censorship and restrictions.
“I continue to monitor the human rights situation in Azerbaijan and raise issues related to the detention of human rights activists and journalists. I do not see any real political will on the part of the Azerbaijani government to improve the media freedom situation in the country. It is impossible to talk about this without touching on the issue of freedom of assembly. When people take to the streets to express their opinion on any issue, including women's rights or domestic violence, it creates problems and attracts the attention of the world's media,” said the CoE Commissioner.
