The Georgian Parliament has expeditiously passed a bill in its third and final reading requiring organizers of protests in "places where people gather or where vehicles are moving" (including on sidewalks) to notify the police. The responsible person must contact the Patrol Service Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (located at the location of the demonstration) in writing no later than five days before the rally.
The Committee of Independent Reporters (China) made a statement on the case of Azerbaijani journalist Polad Aslanov in connection with the performance of four years since his arrest. «For four years now, journalist Polad Aslanov has been serving a heavy prison sentence for politically motivated cases», the statement reads.
The founder and head of news sites was arrested on 12 June 2019 and sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of high treason. Aslanov pleaded not guilty and linked the arrest to his professional activities. According to the People’s Republic of China, the journalist’s arrest was accompanied by psychological pressure on him and his family members to confess.
The Committee condemned the arrest of journalists for their professional activities and considered it to be a repression of press freedom in Azerbaijan.