Paris honors memory of Azerbaijani journalists killed in Karabakh wars

The memory of Azerbaijani journalists killed in the first and second Karabakh wars has been honored in Paris, Report informs.

A photo exhibition dedicated to the memory of journalists killed as a result of Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan was organized at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in the French capital.

The event was implemented with the support of the Azerbaijani Embassy in France. Counselor of the diplomatic mission Nigar Huseynova spoke about the territorial claims and stages of the undeclared war launched by Armenia against Azerbaijan since the late 1980s. The diplomat especially noted the struggle of the press representatives who, at the cost of their lives, covered the truth against the backdrop of the bitter realities of the conflict.

She paid tribute to the memory of Salatin Asgarova, the first journalist to become a martyr in 1991, as well as famous journalists Osman Mirzeyev, Ali Mustafayev and Fahraddin Shahbazov, who died in a helicopter crash in Karabakh that same year. She also spoke about the historical merits of Chingiz Mustafayev, who died while filming in Aghdam in 1992 and brought the horrors of the Khojaly genocide to the world.

Huseynova emphasized that in the modern era, journalists face the danger of mines, recalling the tragic death of Siraj Abishov and Maharram Ibrahimov, who died as a result of a mine explosion in the Kalbajar district in 2021. The diplomat added that international humanitarian law, in particular Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention, recognizes journalists as civilians in wartime and establishes their protection as a legal obligation.

The CEO of the newspaper Lagazetteaz.fr and the founder of the portal Musulmans En France Jean-Michel Brun touched upon the difficulties that French journalists faced in distributing in France the updates prepared during the Second Karabakh War.

He noted that these reports were deleted, their distribution was prohibited, and sometimes obstacles were created for the journalists themselves to travel to the region. Brun added that today the founders of many journalism schools operating in France are Frenchmen of Armenian origin, and it is they who have a serious influence on the media in the country. He said that they take steps that negatively affect the freedom of the press, creating obstacles to the free and objective flow of information. He emphasized that this situation is deeply regrettable.