French Foreign Ministry condemns arrests of journalists in Azerbaijan and calls for their release

The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement on March 8, condemning Azerbaijani authorities’ repression of the media and social activists.

«France is deeply concerned by the recent wave of arrests in Azerbaijan, which once again targeted members of civil society and the independent media.

We call on Azerbaijan to respect fundamental liberties – particularly freedom of speech and freedom of the press – in line with its international commitments, and to release those individuals who have been arbitrarily detained.

On this International Women’s Day, we applaud the role and bravery of female Azerbaijani independent journalists”, – reads the statement.

In turn, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called these accusations from Paris “unfounded” and regarded them as “interference in internal affairs”.