No such thing as free and fair elections exists in Azerbaijan. There are no free press to talk about and the political opposition have during the years been grinded down by the regime. Those people who dares to defy the ban against demonstrations, and other obstacles put there to silence other opinions beside the regimes, are brutally beaten by the special force, OMON. The Aliyev family rules over the country similar to the maffia and considers the enormous oil and gas supplies as their private. We are monitoring the situation in the country and strive to empower the local human rights defenders by raising awareness about the violations they work against.
Read about the current human rights situation in our country report Human rights in Azerbaijan
The International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan strongly condemns a series of repressive legislative amendments that Azerbaijan’s National Assembly adopted on 14 May 2013. “The amendments seek to ban criticism and increase the cost of dissent,” the undersigned organisations said. A report recently published by Civil Rights Defenders shows that repression of civil society has reached new lows.
A year ago Swedish TV viewers’ attention was directed towards Azerbaijan; and wile the Eurovision Song Contest was held in Baku, the regime’s human rights violations continued in the backyard. Today, the lights have gone out but the repression of civil society has reached new lows. On 14 May, Civil Rights Defenders will release a report on the situation of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan. Listen to Vugar Goyajev’s presentation of the findings of the report.
The member states of the United Nations should hold Azerbaijan to account during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 30 April 2013 for its failure to protect basic human rights, says a group of international human rights organisations in a joint statement.
The Azeri independent journalist and editor-in-chief of Khural, Avaz Zeynalli, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for bribery, extortion and tax evasion, in a trial that appears to have been fabricated. Civil Rights Defenders calls on the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt and his European colleagues to prioritise human rights in their contacts with the Azeri government.
Since its launch in December 2012, Civil Rights Defender’s partner, the Art for Democracy campaign, has been under attack by the Azerbaijani authorities. These moves have occurred against a backdrop of a vicious ongoing crackdown on broader civil society in Azerbaijan, the organisation says in a press release.
The Azeri government is putting new pressure on the country’s already repressed civil society. NGOs that receive even minor funds can be severly punished, according to a new draft law. The draft follows a series of repressions of media workers and civil activists. This is especially worrying taking into account the upcoming presidential elections in Azerbaijan in the autumn.
The Nobel Peace Prize was recently awarded to the EU. The prize originates from a fortune, amassed from oil dealings in Azerbaijan. Today, Foreign Minister Carl Bildt will be in Baku with colleagues from Poland and Bulgaria. We expect that the conversation with the dictatorship will be infused by criticism of the human rights situation, Robert Hårdh and Rasul Jafarov, write on Newsmill.
Today, on the International Human Rights Day, Civil Rights Defenders starts a collaboration with the human rights campaign Art for Democracy. The campaign is launched by the Baku-based Human Rights Club and aims at promoting democratic reform and respect for human rights in Azerbaijan, by bringing together the country’s artistic and human rights communities.
As the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 is disappearing from people’s minds, the Azeri government has put all its efforts on controlling freedom of expression, assembly and association in the country. Rasul Jafarov is Chairman of the Human Rights Club and Campaign Coordinator for Sing for Democracy, hear him speak about human rights in Azerbaijan. Special guest: Loreen.
The months after the Eurovision Song Contest have been marked by harassment of independent journalists. “The Azeri authorities’ unabashed threats against journalists and dissidents show not only that the regime lacks all respect for freedom of expression, but also suggest that they do not feel any pressure from abroad on this issue.” said Joanna Kurosz at Civil Rights Defenders.
In a letter to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, we protest against the arrest of photographer Mehman Huseynov, and the charges of hooliganism that were brought against him. If convicted, Huseynov risks a prison sentence of up to five years. We urge the authorities to ensure a safe working environment for the country’s human rights defenders.
Azerbaijan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since had a poor human rights record. The country is an authoritarian regime ruled by the Aliyev family. In 2009, Aliyev initiated a popular referendum, which resulted in the two-term limit on the presidency being removed. The parliamentary elections in 2010 were characterized by widespread fraud according to international observers. The country lacks independent media and the government severely limits the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
After her meetings with human rights activists in Azerbaijan, Swedish ESC winner Loreen has decided to become a member of Civil Rights Defenders to further support the work for human rights.
On her initiative, Loreen and Civil Rights Defenders will meet some of the brave people fighting for human rights in Azerbaijan on Monday, May 21. A reality differing substantially from the image the authorities wants to show of the country.
Natasha Jevtic Esbjörnson
Phone: +46 76 576 27 62
His burnt body was returned to the family in a plastic bag. The European Court has found Russia responsible for human rights violations in the North Caucasus, in more than one hundred cases, as a result of our work.
(Photo: Joanna Kurosz)
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