Azerbaijan should decriminalise defamation, not broaden it to target online media, the International Press Institute (IPI) said today.

A parliamentary committee on Tuesday discussed a draft bill that would expand the crimes of slander and insult to apply to information posted online. The crimes currently apply to public statements and information transmitted through mass media.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović yesterday issued a statement expressing “deep concern” at the proposal, commenting: “The National Action Plan on Human Rights that was decreed by the President Aliyev in 2011 prescribes steps to decriminalize defamation. The amendments, proposed by the Prosecutor General, go in the opposite direction. In addition, I am especially concerned about the provision to include all publicly accessible online resources.”

IPI Deputy Director Anthony Mills echoed Mijatović’s concerns.

“Defamation laws should be drawn narrowly to provide redress to the defamed parties,” he said. “Criminalising libel is unnecessary and serves only to chill investigative reporting, protect public officials from necessary scrutiny and deny the basic human right of freedom of expression. We urge Azerbaijan’s government to follow through on plans to decriminalise defamation and to bring civil defamation law in line with international standards – not to move in the opposite direction.”

As recently as September, Presidential Adviser Ali Hasanov told IPI representatives that Azerbaijan’s government hoped to repeal criminal defamation laws by the end of 2012. However, slander remains punishable with fines of approximately €100 to 500, up to 240 hours of community service, “corrective work” of up to one year or up to six months of imprisonment, with even harsher penalties if the statement alleges someone committed a serious crime. Penalties for insults are similar, but offenders can face fines of approximately €300 to 1,000.

IPI’s Azerbaijan National Committee today said: “We are concerned about this new twist in the process of decriminalisation of the defamation law in Azerbaijan. The decision taken by the parliament can be seen as a hiccup to all the good process and positive strides that international media agencies like IPI and the OSCE have made through various dialogues with the government. We hope that the law will not be passed and that the parliament will instead speed up the process in adopting the amendment to the law on expression proposed by the Press Council and the OSCE, and closely followed by IPI through its National Committee.”