The International Press Institute today condemned a six-year prison sentence given to Azerbaijani journalist Afgan Mukhtarli last week on charges of smuggling, illegal border crossing and assaulting state officials. Mukhtarli, who had fled to Georgia with his wife Leyla Mustafayeva in 2015, was kidnapped in May 2017 and forcibly returned to Azerbaijan. Mukhtarli’s lawyer, Elchin […]

The International Press Institute today called on Azerbaijani authorities to release journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, who was apparently kidnapped in neighbouring Georgia on Monday and forcibly returned to Azerbaijan, where he now faces charges of smuggling and illegal border crossing. Mukhtarli’s lawyer, Elchin Sadigov, told the Associated Press that his client was abducted from his home […]

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović today released a comparative study “Defamation and Insult Laws in the OSCE Region” finding that criminal law remains an instrument to excessively limit media freedom. Commissioned by the representative and conducted by International Press Institute (IPI) Director of Press […]

The International Press Institute (IPI) today condemned a two-year prison sentence given to Azerbaijani photojournalist and blogger Mehman Huseynov, who was convicted of libel for having claimed he was mistreated while in police custody earlier this year. The claim arose after Huseynov was arrested on Jan. 9 for allegedly “disobeying” police. Huseynov, who was convicted […]