BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 29. Azerbaijan Press Council has issued a statement in connection with attack on personnel of Azerbaijan TV and Radio Broadcasting CJSC (owner of AzTV channel) in France, TurkicWorld reports.
According to the statement, the attack is the result of an intolerance towards freedom of speech and expression.
"This is not the first time in France that there have been cases of restrictions on the activities of journalists performing their professional duties, violence against them. AzTV employees also faced a similar situation while on duty in France," the council said. "The reporter and cameraman were injured, and the camera was taken away. The attempts to return the camera were futile. Moreover, the media representatives were threatened with a weapon."
In the statement, the council strongly condemned the incident and called on the French authorities to give a legal assessment of the fact of clear interference in the work of Azerbaijani journalists in the performance of their professional duties, to take the necessary steps to quickly identify and bring to justice the perpetrators.
The council also called on the leading organizations in Europe and the world, specializing in the protection of freedom of speech and expression, media rights, and to keep this issue in the spotlight, showing solidarity.
"Mistreatment of AzTV employees is a suppression of freedom of speech and expression, which is considered an important component of fundamental human rights and freedoms, and also constitutes a restriction of the right to receive information," the council emphasized.
The incident perpetrators must be held accountable so that such negative events don't become a trend and don't happen again in the future, the council said.
The protests began after the murder of a 17-year-old teenager who disobeyed an order of the traffic police in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre in the province of Ile-de-France.
