On 10 August, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe issued the following statement: "I am shocked by the murder of Rasim Aliyev, Chairman of the Institute for Reporters Safety and Freedom. It is a very worrying sign that the safety of journalists in the country is deteriorating further. I call on the Azerbaijani authorities to fully and promptly investigate this murder and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

This tragic event should serve as a last reminder to the authorities and society as whole that the country cannot continue like this: all must re-engage, and all must be done, to restore internal dialogue and trust between civil society and the authorities," he said.

Source: the Council of Europe