The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović on Wednesday expressed deep concern about the increasingly hostile situation for the media in Azerbaijan following moves to extend the criminalization of defamation to the Internet.

On Tuesday the Parliament adopted amendments to the Criminal Code that provide for up to three years imprisonment for defamation posted online.

“I recently warned the government that it is falling short of its promise to decriminalize defamation. This commitment was made as part of the National Action Plan on Human Rights, decreed by President Aliyev in 2011,” Mijatović said. “Yesterday’s amendments drive Azerbaijan even further away from the OSCE’s recommendations to decriminalize defamation. I urge President Aliyev not to sign these amendments,” she added.

Mijatović, who was speaking from a media-freedom conference in Warsaw, said that her Office was ready to support Azerbaijan in fulfilling its media freedom commitments.