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"We do not monitor the election process in a proper manner. However, we are concerned about the conditions for the independent observers. It is, first of all, about journalists and activists in the field of human rights. We see that even now these people are threatened," in an interview to Radio Liberty said Florian Irminger, the head of “Human Rights House” international human rights organization of Geneva office referring to the pre-election situation in Azerbaijan, reports the Azerbaijani portal "Minval.az."

Florian Irminger brings example of another campaign against the journalist Khadija Ismailova: "It's a kind of warning in advance – which says, "If we act like this today, imagine what we will do tomorrow." Irminger also stressed that everybody knows that the elections in Azerbaijan are falsified.

The representative noted the limited level of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly representation in Azerbaijan. "We still do not know exactly whether the European Parliament will send its observers or not. And if not, then we do not even know how this decision was accepted. Observers usually come when the country where the elections are held invites them. We do not know whether they are invited or not. One thing is for sure - if the European Parliament, the OSCE, the Council of Europe or the United Nations agree to these terms, then it is unacceptable. We can only hope that in this election Rustam Ibragimbekov will become a worthy opponent to the current president," he said.

Referring to the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities already behave like winners, Irminger said he recently visited Azerbaijan, where he had discussions with the diplomats.

"Everybody knows who will be the future president. In other countries people learn who the winner is, a day after the election. The fact that Azerbaijan knows in advance who will be the president shows that everyone knows that the elections are falsified. At the same time, the statement of the former head of the European Union about the fact that current president has good chances of winning the upcoming elections, sanctions these results in a certain way," Irminger said.

The representative also stressed that the protests in Azerbaijan were so far suppressed by force. Even the sanctioned protests were intervened by the Azerbaijani authorities.

"If people cannot gather freely, there can be no words about the normal participation in the elections? Being candidate at the elections means being responsible in front of the people. These issues are voiced by the independent press. But what if there is no independent press? These issues cause the biggest concern in Azerbaijan," concluded Florian Irminger.