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Thursday, 3 May 2012
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  • Azerbaijan: Media Freedoms in Grave Danger

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    Duration : 4m 4s
    (Berlin, May 3, 2012) ­ The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) should speak out about Azerbaijan's appalling record on freedom of expression in the lead-up to the Eurovision Song Contest, Human Rights Watch said in a video released today. The Eurovision event will take place in Baku from May 22 to May 26, 2012. The EBU, an association of public broadcasters, is responsible for overseeing the Eurovision Song Contest each year. The Human Rights Watch video profiles a journalist and a singer who have been victims of Azerbaijan government's crackdown on free expression.
    Independent and opposition journalists in Azerbaijan are frequently subject to harassment, intimidation, and physical attacks. Police fail to investigate these attacks effectively or to bring the perpetrators to justice.
    Officials from the EBU should publicly press the Azerbaijan government to release the six journalists currently in detention and cease its harassment of many others, Human Rights Watch said.
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    Idrak Abbasov
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