HRW calls on to stop persecuting activists in Azerbaijan

The international human rights organization "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) has published a report criticizing the attitude of the Azerbaijani authorities towards the opposition. The human rights defenders have called on to release arrested activists and create the conditions for activities of civil society in the country.

According to the HRW, the authorities carry out repressions against their opponents and try to "stifle critical voices" through falsified accusations. As a result, many of persecuted activists have to leave the country, states the HRW's report.

In 2016, according to the authors of the HRW's report, at least 20 youth activists were arrested in Azerbaijan. They were accused of drug trafficking and illegal entrepreneurial activities. A striking example of such repressions was the case against activists Giyas Ibragimov and Bairam Mamedov.

According to the HRW's report, the authorities also persecute relatives of activists and journalists who continue their activities abroad.

Moreover, according to the HRW, the repressive policy is used against a number of advocates engaged in defence of persons arrested for criticizing the government. They are excluded from the Bar Association.

The HRW has also claimed that top-ranking officials responsible for those violations should be subjected by the EU and the USA to visa sanctions.

Samir Kazymly, the coordinator of the Alliance to Protect Political Freedoms, has called the HRW's report a "comprehensive document reflecting the problems of the civil society."

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