As the Court of Appeal in Azerbaijan begins its examination of the case of the two Baku bloggers, Emin Abdullayev and Adnan Hajizade, human rights and media freedom groups continue to claim that the men were jailed on politically motivated charges. A preliminary hearing was held today in Baku today, with the appeal hearing proper scheduled for 8 January, 2010.
Hundreds of Georgian journalists have signed the country’s first independent charter on ethics. The move comes despite some being put under pressure from their media organisations not to take part. Their commitment to internationally-recognised editorial values such as accuracy, ndependence and fair dealing comes despite some being put under pressure from their media organisations.
A handbook for online journalists has been published in Azeri in order to help meet the growing demand for training material. The 40-page A4 guide sets out best practice tips about writing for the web, managing news websites and using social networking tools for news gathering and news dissemination. It’s been produced by the 
An independent newspaper in 
