Azerbaijan

Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS, and the Center for National and International Studies (CNIS) are gravely concerned at the unprecedented crackdown on civil society and democratic freedoms in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan should refrain from using spurious criminal charges to put its critics behind bars, according to a new report by ARTICLE 19

There was no ground to refuse choosing house arrested as an alternative to the resitrictive measure of arrest against Rasul Jafarov, a human rights defender, who had been arrested in Azerbaijan.

As the Azerbaijani regime steps up its repression of human rights defenders and independent NGOs, Western companies are entering into sponsorship agreements with the Baku authorities for Baku2015, the first ever European Olympic Games.

Rasul Jafarov, a human rights activist from Azerbaijan, wrote an appeal to the international media on the reasons for his arrest and falseness of the charges against him.

Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) invites anyone who cares about human rights to send letter of support to activists, who were arrested in Azerbaijan.

The Civic Solidarity Platform, a collation of 60 human rights NGOs of the OSCE region, calls upon the authorities of Azerbaijan to release the human rights defender Rasul Jafarov and stop putting the pressure on the civil society of the country.

Representatives of Azerbaijan’s civil society urge members of the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to condemn the continuing clampdown on fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan.

State prosecutor requested 9 years prison sentence for Anar Mammadli, 8 years 6 months for Bashir Suleymanli and 8 years 6 months for Elnur Mammadov.

The authorities Azerbaijan restrict the right to artistic freedom of expression, particularly with regard to alternative artists and artists considered to be critical of the government, a new report “Creativity under Pressure” says.