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“It would seem that punishment comes first, while legislation will be passed only later,” editor Margarita Akhvlediani questions the legality of Azerbaijan’s blacklist, informs the War and Peace Reporting Institute (WPRI).

Akhvlediani, who was shocked to see her name in that list, notes: “I have worked as a journalist editor across the whole of the Caucasus for more than 20 years, and I regularly visit various regions, because journalistic work requires one to be there in person, otherwise one might miss significant trends and views, particularly in remote areas. Azerbaijan still has a rule that you only need to get approval for visit to Nagorno Karabakh if you need a visa to enter Azerbaijan, [but] Georgian citizens don’t need a visa. Azerbaijan is now planning to change the law … and it’s possible new requirements will be put in place.” Akhvlediani visited Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in 2011.

Another journalist Zarina Sanakoeva states, “It’s an ill-conceived move, and unjust in purely human terms, I think it’s doubtful that there’s any political benefit to be gained from it.” WPRI writes that Sanakoeva is from South Ossetia, which broke away from Georgia just when Nagorno Karabakh became independent. She is also banned from entry to Azerbaijan because of her visit to Nagorno Karabakh.

Head of Human Rights Center in Azerbaijan Eldar Zeynalov is convinced that government can refuse entry to certain people, but what will Azerbaijan gain from including journalists, charity workers, and artists in that list? According to Zeynalov the list looks “rather incomplete.” Some names have photos next to them, others don’t, there are specific explanations for the refusal for some individuals, but not in all of them. “All this suggests that the document was prepared in a hurry, primarily for internal consumption,” Zeynalov says and notes that the names are transliterated, which means that individuals can’t find their names in the list by using search engines.

Azerbaijan has included 335 individuals in the blacklist of personae non gratae. The list includes politicians, journalists, artists, photographers, and others. The reason is visiting Nagorno Karabakh Republic without the permission of Azerbaijan. Moreover, Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé’s visit to Nagorno Karabakh caused a minor diplomatic row between Baku and Madrid.
The blacklist includes parliamentarians from Britain, Canada, France, Russia, Argentina and Uruguay, 8 members of the European Parliament, journalists, and so on.