International organizations urge Azerbaijani authorities to release journalists

The well-known non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which had supported the international human rights campaign "Sports for Human Rights", have called for the release of the Azerbaijan journalists and bloggers kept in jail. Their appeal is dated to the World Press Freedom Day marked on May 3.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the campaign "Sports for Human Rights", aimed at drawing attention to the human rights problems in Azerbaijan, was launched on the eve of the first European Games in Baku held on June 12-28, 2015.

This time, the above NGOs have urged the international community to pay more attention to the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in the run-up to the motor race round Grand Prix "Formula-1" to be held in Baku on June 17-19, 2016.

The authors of the appeal condemn "the ruthless repressions by the Azerbaijani authorities of independent media." They encouraged the authorities to take immediate steps to improve the freedom of speech in the country, starting with the release of the journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who as recently become a laureate of the UNESCO's Guillermo Cano Award, and other prisoners – media professionals, bloggers and activists – convicted on political grounds.

It is noted that the Azerbaijani authorities continue politically motivated arrests; in particular, the criminal cases against the writer Akram Aylisli and the Meydan TV are mentioned.

Elshan Gasanov, the Head of the Centre for Monitoring of Political Prisoners, shared the concerns of his foreign partners. According to his story, Azerbaijan still has, even after the release of 20 journalists and activists, about 100 political prisoners.

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