Freedom House names Georgia regional leader in internet freedom

PanARMENIAN.Net - Georgia remains the regional leader in internet freedom, indeed the only country in the Caucasus where the internet remains free, Freedom House's Sam Patten said.

Although, last year, the authorities arrested two people in connection with the videos mocking the Catholicos Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, the country's record is generally good.

Patten also pointed out that Azerbaijan is leading in terms of internetization, covering 40% of the territory of the country. But some obstructive factors are still found.

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan are trying to keep internet under control, Patten stressed.

According to media.ge, recollection of the detention of two bloggers in Azerbaijan followed by an austere remark by the representative of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan.

Two findings by Freedom House, Kamran Hasanov stressed, such as Azerbaijan's leading level of internatization in the region and government's control on internet fail to come into conformity.

In response to Hasanov's remark Andrei Richter, Director of the Moscow Media Law and Policy Institute said high level of internatization doesn't imply freedom of internet.