Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the country must be "ten times stronger" than Armenia "every day," explaining this by the need to maintain military superiority even after the initialing of a peace agreement between the two countries. He outlined his position on October 2 at the 8th Congress of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party in Baku.
More than 20 civil society and media activists of Azerbaijan stated that the conditions of registration and control of the Media Development Agency over the activities of the press and journalists are in fact censorship and aimed at suppressing free votes.
During the conference, it was suggested that the members of the Council of Europe, which includes Azerbaijan, should respect their obligations and principles.
Earlier, Azerbaijani experts expressed their opposition to the adoption of the law as restricting freedom of expression in the country. First, consultations were held in Parliament and proposals and amendments were submitted. Then the Venice Commission sent the expertise of the law «On Media», calling for its revision. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe made the same decision.