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Azerbaijan 'makes mockery of democratic aspirations' in civil societ

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  • Azerbaijan 'makes mockery of democratic aspirations' in civil societ

    Azerbaijan 'makes mockery of democratic aspirations' in civil society
    crackdown, says OSCE PA human rights chair

    Saturday, August 2, 15:44


    Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), the Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary
    Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian
    Questions, today deplored the intensifying crackdown on civil society
    in Azerbaijan and called on authorities to quickly reverse the trend.

    "With this latest round of attacks on the country's civil society,
    Azerbaijan is making a mockery of its stated aspirations to become a
    modern, democratic state. I am shocked by developments that have
    occurred in the last several days alone -- namely, the barring of
    human rights activist Rasul Jafarov from leaving the country and the
    clearly politicized charges against Leyla Yunus and her husband,"
    Santos said.

    "The fact that these and other disturbing developments have come less
    than a month after Baku hosted the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's
    Annual Session makes them all the more shameful. I call on
    Azerbaijan's authorities to take their OSCE human rights commitments
    seriously and immediately reverse this downward spiral," Santos added.

    The PA's human rights chair also referred to a clause in the Baku
    Declaration, the final document approved by Parliamentarians from
    across the OSCE area at the conclusion of the recent Annual Session,
    that "expresses concern at the misuse of administrative procedures and
    legislation to detain, imprison, intimidate or otherwise silence human
    rights defenders and critics in numerous OSCE participating States,
    including Azerbaijan:"

    Activist Rasul Jafarov, the chair of the Legal Protection and
    Awareness Society, has worked to bring human rights violations in
    Azerbaijan to the attention of the international community. His ban on
    traveling abroad was revealed this week when he attempted to cross
    into Georgia. His bank account has also been frozen and he has been
    subject to official harassment. Jafarov was one of several leading
    activists who assisted Santos in organizing a side event on
    fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan at the OSCE PA Annual Session. The
    event was attended by prominent Azerbaijani MPs, who actively engaged
    in discussion on the topics raised.
    Leyla Yunus, the director of the Institute for Peace and Democracy in
    Azerbaijan, and her husband, Arif Yunus, were arrested on 30 July on
    charges of treason, tax evasion and other financial crimes. The NGO
    defends political prisoners, exposes corruption and promotes
    people-to-people exchanges between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

    The OSCE PA's human rights chair also expressed concern over the
    sentencing last month of Azerbaijani education activist and NGO leader
    Hasan Huseynli to six years in prison on trumped up charges.

    Santos also noted with regret the announcement that independent
    Azerbaijani newspaper "Azadliq" has been forced to suspend publishing
    due to financial problems. The newspaper has faced official pressure
    apparently in connection to its reporting on corruption. She described
    the development as "another blow to the already state-dominated media
    landscape."

    Santos further reiterated her intention to visit jailed Azerbaijani
    rights defender Anar Mammadli, the Chairman of the Election Monitoring
    and Democracy Studies Centre. In early June, she formally requested
    permission to visit Mammadli during the OSCE PA Annual Session in
    Baku, but has yet to receive a response from the authorities.

    http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=6CFDB870-1A3A-11E4-947A0EB7C0D21663

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