This campaign started by OSCE Baku office on 3 September. At the event dedicated to this action OSCE Baku Office Head Hose Luis Herrera expressed the view of OSCE Special Representative for Media Freedom Miklos Haraszti. “Police should assist press representatives covering all kinds of demonstrations, including unsanctioned actions. In addition, journalists should be helping the police by differentiating themselves. These vests made for the press will help this.”
Interior Deputy Minister Oruc Zalov also participated in the presentation of the new vests. He applauded the OSCE initiative and noted that new light green vests to be distributed among journalists and blue vests, which were distributed three years ago, will help police to distinguish between the journalists and conflict or action participants.
Press Council Chairman Aflatun Amashov said the vests will be distributed next week. According to Amashov, 350 vests were made three years ago and 300 of them were distributed to the journalists. This time 200 vests have been made and they will be given out to editorial offices.
IRFS’s work
On 19 September in the press center of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety the presentation of special vests for journalists, made with support from International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), was conducted. IRFS Chairman Emin Huseynov spoke during the event and said that the vests were made from high-quality material and PRESS is printed on both the front and back of the vests.
Huseynov touched on the issue regarding the number of the vests. He said that first it was planned to produce 170 vests, and then this figure was brought down to 120. However, 105 vests were made in the end because of price increase. He stated that five of the vests are considered for IRFS employees, ten vests for journalists coming from foreign countries, and the rest will be distributed among editorial offices that will appeal.
Huseynov noted that more that ten editorial offices have already appealed to IRFS to obtain the vests. According to him, the vests will be given to mass media on the basis of written appeals. The vests are available in the sizes 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56.
He said “As any other person, journalists also have right to Freedom of Assembly and become a member of any political party. But I implore journalists to only use these when they carrying their professional duties as reporters.”
“Azadlig” Newspaper editor Rovshan Hajiyev, “Khural” newspaper editor-in-chief Avaz Zeynalli, Center for Investigative Journalism Co-chairman Seymur Verdizade, correspondents of “Turan” Information Agency, BBC Radio, “anspress.com” site, “Uch Nogte”, “Ayna”, “Gundalik Baki”, “Bizim Yol”, “Olke” and a representative from the OSCE Baku Office participated in the event.
