The Reporters Without Borders (RWB) international human rights organization has called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to demand—during her talk with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev—the release of journalists detained in the country, and to raise the matter of freedom of speech in Azerbaijan.

Merkel will visit Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, from Thursday to Saturday. On Saturday, she is scheduled to meet with Aliyev in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is ranked 163rd—among 180 countries—in the RWB 2018 World Press Freedom Index.