CPJ, New York, 30 Dec 2008 – The Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement after Azerbaijan’s National Council on Television and Radio announced today that it would discontinue the local licenses of international broadcasters Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Voice of America, and the BBC as of January 1, 2009.
“We are dismayed by the continued state crackdown on independent news and information in Azerbaijan and we call on President Ilham Aliyev’s government to reverse this politically motivated decision,” CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. “International broadcasters are a lifeline for Azerbaijani audiences to receive alternative news and views. Severing that line will be a loss to the public and a sure sign that Azerbaijan is not interested in mending its already tarnished press freedom record of recent years.”
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