Andres Herkel: "We are concerned with imprisonment of reporters in Azerbaijan"

He said that when acceding to the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan stated committments among which media freedom and issues of human rights are considered a priority.

He said imprisonment of reporters not only affects their relatives but also deteriorates media freedom, thus creating negative atmosphere before elections.

A.Herkel also reported that the 73th session of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe will discuss the state of freedom of assembly in Azerbaijan.

Andres Herkel noted when speaking about the Election Code that a perfect code is not a cure: "Perfection is not the matter of law. The most important thing is its execution and observance."

A.Herkel was not able to answer questions regarding any sanctions to be used against Azerbaijan during the January session of the Council of Europe. He also said he does not know when the next report of the said organization will be ready.

/APA/