HRW treats 2015 repressions in Azerbaijan as unprecedented

In Azerbaijan, the year 2015 was marked by ruthless repressions against the civil society and mass media; and only a serious international pressure on the authorities can stop the process, says the annual report on human rights released by the Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 23, 2015, the working group, comprising NGO activists, journalists and lawyers, released an updated list of Azerbaijani political prisoners, including 93 names.

The reports mentions, among passed sentences, the cases of Intigam Aliev, the head of the Legal Enlightenment Society; Leyla and Arif Yunus, the rights defenders from the Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD); Rasul Jafarov, the coordinator of the campaign "Arts for Democracy"; Anar Mamedli, the head of the Centre for Election Monitoring and Democracy Training of (CEM&DT); and the journalist Khadija Ismayilova.

Many activists and journalists are still facing threats and harassments; some of them for fear of repressions, had to leave the country; others are under ban to leave Azerbaijan, the HRW reports, adding that many international human rights observers and foreign journalists are prohibited to visit the country.

The document also states that, despite the concerns of international partners about repressions, the situation has not changed.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani authorities denied any political prisoners in the country.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.