L. whereas the ongoing intimidation, harassment and arrests of representatives of opposition forces and NGOs, the recent adoption of the laws on NGO financing and the right of assembly, the law on defamation and the law imposing internet restrictions, as well as the increasing pressure being exerted on the free and independent media and on minorities with respect to sexual orientation and religious belief, are resulting in a further degradation of the situation regarding human rights and democratic principles in Russia;

G. whereas the continuous intimidation, harassment and arrests of the representatives of opposition forces and non-governmental organisations, the recent adoption of a law on the financing of NGOs, on the right of assembly, the law on defamation, the law on the internet restrictions as well as the increasing pressure on free and independent media and minorities in sexual orientation and religious belief result into a further degradation of the human rights and democratic principles in Russia;

12. Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to adopt the draft law on defamation which provides for the abolition of criminal liability for defamation and insult; welcomes the discussions on the adoption of such a law within Azerbaijani society, the close cooperation with the OSCE in this regard, and the intention of the Azerbaijani authorities to adopt the draft law before the end of the year;

E. whereas the Defamation Bill presently before the UK Parliament promises to go a long way towards removing the alleged chilling effect on publishers, although it seems unlikely to resolve the difficult issue of high legal costs;

38. Calls for efforts to avoid abuse of libel actions against journalists for political reasons; welcomes the recent announcement by the Government that the defamation law is to be removed from the penal code and the pending lawsuits against journalists suspended; stresses that media freedom is the cornerstone of democracy and an imperative for any country aspiring to become an EU Member State; shares the view that the media sector should elaborate and implement high professional standards for journalists and adhere to the rules of journalistic ethics; calls on the authorities to draw up anti-trust legislation in the field of the med ...[+++]ia, as well as measures to prevent political influence in the media sector;

HU || YES || n/a || Act No 161/2010 amending the various Acts on criminal matters; Act No 19/1998 on criminal procedure; Act No 38/1996 on international legal assistance in criminal matters; Act No 47/2009 on the criminal records system, the registry of judgments against Hungarian citizens passed by courts of Member States, and the recording of criminal and police biometric data; Act No 12/1998 on foreign travel; Act No 4/1978 on the Criminal Code.