Freedom of expression under pressure in Azerbaijan

Statement by Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland

I am concerned about very harsh sentences imposed by the court in Azerbaijan on Adnan Hadjizadeh and Emin Mili. Shortly before the July incident which resulted in their imprisonment for “hooliganism”, the two young people have produced a satirical YouTube video, in which they have been implicitly criticising the government. This sequence of events will have an evitable chilling effect on the freedom of expression in Azerbaijan.

The authorities should very critically review their attitude towards media and civil society and public criticism in general, and bring it in line with their obligations as a member of the Council of Europe and a party of the European Convention on Human Rights. The freedom of expression is a vital precondition of democracy. Without it there is no freedom, no creativity, no good ideas, no good solutions and no social progress. What is at stake is not only the freedom of Adnan and Emin, but the freedom and wellbeing of all people in Azerbaijan.