December 18, 2000

The League supports the recently issued statements by Article 19 and Committee to Protect Journalists voicing their concern about Azerbaijan's laws regarding mass media. In view of the Council of Europe's decision to invite Azerbaijan to become a member of this organization, several comprehensive reforms in the media sphere are mandatory to assure freedom of speech in this country.

The League also joins Article 19 in calling upon Azeri government to remove those articles in the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan which deal with "insult" to individuals as well as a separate article dealing with "insult" to the President. These articles are widely considered to be a new form of censorship under disguise by allowing judges to impose heavy fines on independent media outlets, thus effectively closing them.

Together with the Law on Mass Media, the League believes it is just as urgent to reform the laws regulating the NGO sector as well as the legal profession in Azerbaijan.

a) Although there are over one thousand registered NGOs in the country, the government continually refuses to register scores of NGOs, often for the pettiest of reasons.

b) The control Azeri government has traditionally exercised over the legal profession has been re-affirmed by the new Law on the Bar (Advocatura), which went into effect on January 27, 2000. The Collegium of Advocates remains the country's only bar association and lawyers are not allowed to form any alternative bars or professional unions. In addition, no lawyer has the right to take on criminal cases if he/she is not a member of the Collegium. These facts are in direct contravention with the Freedom of Association as well as the UN Basic Principles for the Role of Lawyers.

Despite the criticism that the Council of Europe has received for deciding to extend its membership to Azerbaijan after its parliamentary elections had been recognized by international organizations as undemocratic and fraudulent, most human right activists, NGOs, and democratically-minded public in general have supported this decision as having the potential to change the political situation in the country for the better. Therefore, the League calls on the Council to continue in its insistence that the government of Azerbaijan heed the voice of the international community and bring its laws in conformity with the international standards and the freedoms of speech and association.