“The state of freedom of speech in Azerbaijan is not worse than that in France, Germany and Italy,” chief of socio-political department of the Presidential Administration Ali Hasanov said while commenting on the present state of freedom of speech in Azerbaijan, APA reports. According to the department chief, the state of freedom of speech has been normal in Azerbaijan since the state censure on media was lifted in 1998.
“Maybe some people, some international organizations are not satisfied with it. But I assure you that Azerbaijani media does not lag behind some European states in terms if analyzing, assessing any decision of the state, work of any official in Azerbaijan. If a journalist independently expresses his view about an official, state, any structure, budget etc, it is unfair to say “the state of freedom of speech is bad”,” he said.