Azerbaijani civil society activists condemn pressure on NGOs

The criminal charges moved against a number of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and well-known civil society activists are of political nature. These charges are aimed to eliminate the independent institutions of the civil society, said members of the leading Azerbaijani NGOs.

During the past five years, the Azerbaijani authorities have been consistently restricting the scope of NGOs' activities, Gubad Ibadoglu, the head of the Centre for Economic Studies, said at a press conference held on August 15. According to his story, the new wave of attacks on the civil society began with the introduction in December 2013 of restrictive amendments to Azerbaijani legislation.

Gubad Ibadoglu has emphasized that even under the most stringent conditions the independent NGOs will continue their activities and carry out their function of public control over the government.

Azerbaijan has built a wrong "State-NGO" relationship model. The laws on NGOs are reactionary; and the human rights situation is depressing, said Arzu Abdullaeva, the Co-Chair of the Helsinki Civil Assembly and the head of its National Committee.

In his turn, Ali Gasanov, the head of one of the divisions of the Presidential Administration, believes that a purposeful policy of "vilification" of Azerbaijan is pursued in the international arena, while the country, according to his version has the conditions in place for the activities of civil society.