23:55, 25 September 2020

Observers see human rights violations in Azerbaijani authorities' fight against COVID-19

A law enforcer checks the documents of a woman in Baku. Photo by Aziz Karimov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The authorities of Azerbaijan exceeded their powers when they restricted the rights and freedoms of citizens during the coronavirus pandemic, the Centre for Election Monitoring and Democracy Education (CEMDE) concluded. In the country, at least 95,000 people were brought to administrative responsibility for violation of the quarantine.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 24, the Azerbaijani authorities imposed quarantine in the country and extended it until September 30, but with some mitigation.

According to a report prepared by the CEMDE, police abuses were noted, and politically motivated persecution was intensified during the pandemic.

The quarantine was imposed three weeks after the parliamentary elections, which, according to observers, were held with serious violations.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), in the period from March 17 to July 21, 195,000 people were brought to administrative responsibility for violating the quarantine. In fact, every 52nd resident of the country was punished, the CEMDE calculated. In other countries, far fewer people were brought to administrative responsibility for such violations.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 25, 2020 at 12:41 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Faik Medjid

Source: CK correspondent