A number of civil society organizations, including media ones, on May 3 staged a flashmob meeting in front of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Chisinau to make common cause with the Journalistic Investigations Center. According to the civil society members, the Embassy requested the Center to remove the banner in support of Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who was convicted for writing about the family of the President of Azerbaijan, from its head office, IPN reports.
The Journalistic Investigations Center’s head Cornelia Cozonac said that a representative of the Embassy of Azerbaijan on April 22 came and warned them about the banner placed one day before. “We moved to the new head office, which is located in a building neighboring the Embassy of Azerbaijan. As our balcony is situated opposite the embassy, we thought to create a banner by which to demand that Khadija, our colleague who was sentenced to seven years in jail for conducting journalistic investigations centering on the Azerbaijani President, should be set free,” she stated.
Cornelia Cozonac also said that by this banner, the Journalistic Investigations Center stated its position on the Government of Azerbaijan, which violates the rights of journalists and jails freelance journalists.
Executive director of the Association of Independent Press Petru Macovei said that by this event they also wanted to transmit a message to the Moldovan authorities, about the necessity of making sure that the mass media work in conditions of freedom and independence, without political interference. “We demand that the Embassy of Azerbaijan should not intimidate the nongovernmental organizations, as it happened in relation to the Journalistic Investigations Center. It’s strange why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration didn’t take attitude to this situation. The Azerbaijani ambassador should be invited to the Ministry to provide explanations over this situation,” he said.
Transparency International Moldova expert Ianina Spinei said she expressed her support for all the investigative journalists who identify fraudulent, corruption schemes that bring more light as regards the use of public funds.
