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Azerbaijan’s local media groups and rights advocates on Wednesday appealed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to help find and punish perpetrators of the recent attacks on two opposition-minded journalists and also prevent such cases from happening in the future. (30 July 2004) 

Reforms in the judicial and law enforcement areas and ensuring transparency of elections will be one of the priorities of the cooperation between Republic of Azerbaijan and the Council of Europe. General Director of the Council of Europe Strategic Planning Department Jean-Louis Laurens visited Baku last week to discuss prospects for cooperation between Republic of Azerbaijan and the CE. (30 July 2004)

The project on clearance of oil-polluted areas in Baku suburbs implemented with financial assistance by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry has been suspended, Norwegian Ambassador to Republic of Azerbaijan Steinar Gil told a news conference on Thursday. (30 July 2004)

The Soros Foundation jointly with the UN Development Program and the government of Republic of Azerbaijan will implement the next stage of the information program, Samir Aliverdiyev, the program head has told a news conference. (30 July 2004) 

Two unknown men assaulted and beat Eynulla Fatullayev, a famed reporter of an opposition magazine, Monitor, on Monday, in the city centre.  Fatullayev is known for his extremely critical articles about the various officials of the incumbent Azerbaijani government. (27 July 2004)

The Election Monitoring Centre (EMC) of non-governmental organizations was established on July 24, 2001 on the initiative of 8 NGOs in Republic of Azerbaijan.  The EMC primarily works in the direction of the development of the election system, improvement of the election legislation, organization of monitoring in the election process, creation of the democratic election environment, and assistance to hold a democratic election. (26 July 2004)

The Monitoring Group of NGOs hold a roundtable on assessing the latest report of the CE experts on political prisoner issue in the Republic of Azerbaijan last Friday. The CE experts’ report, which says the problem of political prisoners in Republic of Azerbaijan has been solved, met with protests and confusion by the local human rights activists and opposition-minded political parties.  (25 July 2004)

The Azerbaijani Supreme Court revoked the legal status of a Muslim organization, accusing it of spreading “religious propaganda,” the court’s presiding judge said Thursday, Associated Press reported. (23 july 2004)

Jean-Louis Laurens, Director of the Council of Europe (CE) on Strategic Planning Department, stressed in a Friday meeting with Samad Seyidov, chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on international relations, that he expected Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections in 2005 to be held more democratically and fairly. (23 July 2004)