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The leadership of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) should insist that the government of Azerbaijan release journalists and activists ahead of the European Games, Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists said.

“EOC leadership has so far maintained a public silence in the face of serious abuse and repression by Azerbaijan’s government against its critics,” said Jane Buchanan, associate Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. She highlighted that the EOC still has an opportunity to stand up for Olympic values, including by unambiguously calling for prisoner releases.

The EOC and its members are part of the Olympic Movement and governed by the Olympic Charter, which has explicit guarantees for press freedom and insists that sport promotes “human dignity” and “the harmonious development of humankind.” In the year leading up to the games, the government of Azerbaijan has carried out an unprecedented crackdown to silence critical journalists, human rights defenders, and opposition activists, including by arresting dozens on bogus criminal charges carrying long prison sentences, the article reads.

“Azerbaijani authorities have demonstrated time and again that they will not tolerate criticism but use intimidation, harassment, politically motivated prosecution, imprisonment, and physical attacks to silence independent voices,” said Nina Ognianova, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. The EOC’s leadership must not keep silent while the journalists most capable of ensuring the full, free coverage of the European Games, as stipulated by the Olympic Charter, languish behind bars, she added.

During a hearing in the European Parliament on May 6, 2015, the EOC vice president, Janez Kocijancic, contended that the EOC “cannot accept political engagements,” but also claimed that the EOC will use “whatever influence we have to make this society better and more open,” according to the article. 

“The EOC needs to use its unique leverage with Azerbaijan in the run-up to Baku 2015 to stand up for press freedom and human dignity. These values are universal ones that Azerbaijan has voluntarily committed to uphold,” Ognianova said. Buchanan added that if the EOC continues to be a silent partner in the face of such serious human rights abuses, the games risk being forever tarnished by both the abuses and the complacency of those who have the power to make a difference.

Global Voices writes that although one month from now, Azerbaijan’s capital city Baku will host the inaugural European Games, nearly one hundred human rights activists, journalists, bloggers and civil society representatives languish in jails across Azerbaijan, and the crackdown is spreading. For years Azerbaijan has been a country of “concern” or “worry” for Western politicians, analysts, and observers. Those jailed stayed in jail, those who were silenced remained silenced, and more importantly, the authorities in Azerbaijan continued their skillful use of repression and crackdown tactics, the article reads.

According to the report, many social media users have “hijacked” the official hashtag of the European Games to draw the international attention to the critical human rights situation in Azerbaijan. For instance, a social media user wrote, “What else is on offer in #HelloBaku? Journalists, bloggers in prison, crackdown on government critics.”

“Now is the time to act. Western leaders must pressure the government of Azerbaijan to start respecting the international conventions and agreements it has signed. A more critical approach must be taken against government officials involved in the ongoing harassment of journalists, civil society activists, rights defenders, and peaceful protesters,” the website writes.

The broadcasting portal Voice of America adds that by holding these games, President Ilham Aliyev’s government is trying to portray Azerbaijan as a country with 21st century values, like any other in Europe. But looking at the reports compiled by international organizations working to ensure press freedom and human rights around the world, Azerbaijan falls among the countries not conforming to the best practices. Klaus Larres, professor at the University of North Carolina, said that the Azerbaijani people will soon see that the European games and European values are not one and the same.

Related:

Breaking point in Azerbaijan: Promotion and glamour abroad, repression and imprisonment at home 

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

NGO coalition warned EOC president about crackdowns in Azerbaijan prior to European Games