23:52, 24 September 2003

Azerbaijanians picketed their own embassy in Moscow

A picket of Azerbaijanians who "are obliged to live in Russia" was held in front of the Azerbaijan embassy in Moscow yesterday. The meeting was organized by the Movement Against Tyranny in Azerbaijan. As a news release propagated by the Movement reads, the action was held "because of the unbearable state of human rights observance in Azerbaijan". This protest action is not the first one that Azerbaijanians carry out in Moscow. The first picket was held in front of the building of the European Union office on September 20, the second one - in front of the UNHCR office in Moscow on September 22. Action initiators assert their aim is "to draw attention of the European Union Member States to the human rights problems in Azerbaijan and express their disagreement with the EU Member States' passive stance on this issue."