An exhibition showcasing photographs of 14 Azerbaijani journalists who lost their lives while fulfilling their professional duties during Armenia’s military aggression against Azerbaijan has opened at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Paris. The event was organized by the Baku Network Analytical Center with the support of Azerbaijan’s Embassy in France.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Embassy Counselor Nigar Huseynova highlighted the challenges Azerbaijan has faced since the late 1980s, stemming from Armenia’s open territorial claims and undeclared war. She emphasized that media representatives were among the victims of the conflict, specifically mentioning Salatin Asgarova, the first journalist martyred in 1991, brutally killed by Armenian forces; Osman Mirzayev, Ali Mustafayev, and Fakhraddin Shahbazov, killed in 1991 when a helicopter carrying high-ranking Azerbaijani officials was shot down over Karabakh in a terrorist act; Chingiz Mustafayev, who played a key role in raising global awareness about the Khojaly genocide and was martyred in 1992 while filming in Aghdam; and Maharram Ibrahimov and Siraj Abishov, employees of AZERTAC and AzTV, killed in 2021 by Armenian landmines in Kalbajar.

Huseynova stressed that Azerbaijanis continue to live under the threat of landmines and underscored the critical role of journalism during times of crisis. She noted that these courageous journalists risked their lives to inform the public, working in an era without internet or social media, under an information blockade imposed on Azerbaijan - making their task even more challenging.

Commenting on the current normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Huseynova said the 44-day war in 2020, which ended the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, opened a new chapter for the region. She noted that Azerbaijan was the initiator of the peace agenda.

Other speakers at the event included Elchin Aghajanov, Head of the Baku Network Analytical Center; Jean-Michel Brun, Editor-in-Chief of “La Gazette du Caucase”; and Sahil Karimli, Deputy Director of Trend News Agency. They addressed the continuing danger posed by Armenian landmines in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories, the challenges faced by French journalists in covering the realities of Karabakh, and the obstacles encountered in broadcasting reports on the Second Karabakh War in France.

The speakers expressed concern over the distortion of Karabakh-related news in the French media, influenced by the Armenian lobby. They noted that some French journalists had their reports censored, faced bans on dissemination, were denied access to the region, or came under pressure for reporting the truth about Karabakh.