The Audiovisual Council issued a statement regarding the program on "Baku TV"
On February 1, 2024 the Audiovisual Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan held an online meeting to discuss a case related to the program "Arzunun vaxtı" (“Arzu’s time”) that was broadcast on "Baku TV" channel on 29 January 2024. The program was later posted on the channel's website and social networks, as well as on the websites of other online media entities, and caused a wide resonance. The program featured an interview with a 16-year-old girl who married a 32-year-old man with disabilities. It has been revealed that the teenage girl and the young man are in a consensual man-woman relationship for some time and plan to marry in the near future (when the girl turns 17).
Although the presenter of the program condemned that the person under 18 cohabiting with another person in an extramarital relationship, the questions asked, the answers given, and the campaign to raise funds for those who have committed this act, in fact effectively turned the program, intended to oppose early marriage, into a tool that promoted early marriage.
Based on the monitoring conducted by the specialists of the Audiovisual Council and the legal opinion prepared, we state that the above fact, i.e., the opinions expressed in the dialogue between the presenter and the interviewees, can be classified as information prohibited for circulation among children, being "information promoting anti-social, illegal actions, including crimes", as reflected in Article 4.2.2 of the Law "On Protection of children from harmful information", at the same time being "information undermining the institution of the family", as outlined in Article 4.2.4 of the same Law. The Article 14.1.15 of the Law "On Media" states that requirements stipulated in the Law "On Protection of children from harmful information" shall be complied with. Therefore, the aforementioned interview could be considered a violation of this provision and, consequently, an administrative offense.
The Members of the Audiovisual Council held discussions and the general position was that the event and topic covered in the program was interpreted one-sidedly and incompletely, which violated a number of legal requirements. As it was the first violation of this kind on "Baku TV", the Audiovisual Council only issued a warning to the broadcaster. In general, all media representatives were advised to be more professional when discussing such sensitive events, to be in close communication with the relevant state bodies in order to cover the event comprehensively and to comply with the requirements of the legislation and generally accepted social norms.
