Committee to Protect Journalists on the upheld convictions

From CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon:

“Rafiq Tagi and Samir Sadagatoglu have already spent eight months in prison simply for expressing an opinion. While we recognize some readers may have been offended by that opinion, there is no justification for jailing journalists for what they publish or threatening them with death. We call on Azerbaijani authorities to overturn this conviction and free both journalists immediately.”

The CPJ named Azerbaijan one of the top 10 backsliders on press freedom this year.