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EU lawmakers have called on Azerbaijan to release individuals widely seen as political prisoners ahead of the inaugural European Games and urged European leaders to skip the event’s June 12 opening ceremony in Baku. European Parliament Vice President Alexander Graf Lambsdorff said that the Azerbaijani government “should fully grant its citizens all the freedoms that are laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights, which it adheres to,” and in line with the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Olympic Charter, RFE/RL writes.

The article says that the European Parliament is likely to vote on a resolution on the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in June, and several members of the chamber plan to write to the Azerbaijani government in the coming weeks calling for the release of jailed journalists and others whom rights activists consider political prisoners.

Organization for the release of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners Freedom Now and international human rights organization Human Rights House published new joint report, “Breaking point in Azerbaijan: Promotion and glamour abroad, Repression and imprisonment at home” on 12 May, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the methods Azerbaijani authorities are using to repress civil society in the country. It is also noted that in recent years, Azerbaijani authorities have intensified a crackdown on civil society and devastated critical voices, without regard for domestic or international law. This crackdown is in stark contrast to the polished image of a modern and prosperous European state that President Ilham Aliyev has presented to outside observers.

The report also documents the strategies used by the Azerbaijani authorities to silence human rights activists. These strategies fall into three categories: First, authorities rely on “patently politically-motivated charges,” such as inciting hatred, mass disorder, and treason. Second, authorities have been known to resort to “fabricated charges,” including drug and weapon charges, and hooliganism. Third, the government has more recently confounded and alarmed international observers through the use of special “organization-directed charges.” The latter include charges of illegal business activity, tax evasion, and abuse of office.

“The Azerbaijani authorities must immediately and unconditionally release and rehabilitate all leading civil society actors,” said Florian Irminger, Head of Advocacy at the Human Rights House Foundation, adding that the authorities must also conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation into all cases of detention, torture, and other human rights abuses directed against human rights defenders, journalists and activists, and provide appropriate compensation to the victims of such violations. Until that time, the international community must cease sending high level representatives to economic, sporting, and cultural events organized in Azerbaijan.

The report documents serious procedural and due process violations before and during the trials of these prisoners of conscience, including incidents of torture or mistreatment, lack of access to lawyers, and exclusion of vital evidence introduced by defense lawyers.

Human rights organization Index on Censorship and a number of other organizations have signed a joint letter to Lord Sebastian Coe of the British Olympic Association, to highlight violations against freedom of expression and threats to human rights defenders in Azerbaijan ahead of the European Games. The letter reads that on 30 April the President of the Swedish Olympic Committee, Stefan Lindeberg, said that Azerbaijan is a regime that is not living up to standards. But Swedish Olympic Committee stands behind the fundamental idea of sports, which is to keep doors open rather than to close them. He also expressed concern about reports on restrictions of press freedom in Azerbaijan.

“We encourage you to follow the Swedish Olympic Committee’s lead, and, in the spirit of the Olympic Charter’s principles on press freedom and human dignity, publicly condemn this clampdown, calling for the release of Azerbaijan’s political prisoners. In making such a statement, you would send a signal to Azerbaijani civil society that they are not alone in their struggle for fundamental freedoms,” the letter reads. 

Italian think tank Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso (OBC) adds that according to Azerbaijani government everyone who speaks up against them is an agent of Armenia recruited solely for the purpose of discrediting Azerbaijan on an international level.

“These Armenian agents go around the world attending international events, writing for foreign press about the mounting issues of concern in Azerbaijan, all of which surely are the product of their human imagination,” the article reads and adds that this tactic of blaming government critics for representing Armenian interests is not new. For years, many of the country’s prominent names would be “mocked” for having Armenian friends and supporting peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Related:

EU, PACE and international human rights organizations condemn verdict against Azerbaijani human rights defender

Sport and Rights Alliance Calls on European Olympic Committees to put pressure on Azerbaijan to release political prisoners

Human rights groups appeal to U.S. Secretary of State to boycott European games in Baku