World Press Freedom Index 2015: Azerbaijan isn’t only behind from Armenia, but also biggest prisoner of journalists in Europe
Armenia, as last year, occupies 78th place in the "World Press Freedom Index 2015" compiled by the international organization Reporters Without Borders.
Azerbaijan is significantly behind from Armenia in 2015. The country occupies the 162nd place among 180 countries, down 2 positions compared with the last year. The report also says that Azerbaijan has registered one of the biggest falls in score of any country in the Index.
It is highlighted that the regime in Azerbaijan is in the process of silencing the few remaining independent voices that it has not already managed to suppress. Outspoken journalists and bloggers are being given the same choice as human rights defenders – shut up, flee abroad or be jailed on trumped-up charges. The number of journalists and bloggers who were jailed turned Azerbaijan into Europe’s biggest prison for news providers.
According to the same organization, in 2014 Armenia occupied the 78th place, Georgia – the 84th, Azerbaijan – the 160th.
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