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The human rights situation in Azerbaijan has receded due to the global demand for energy, reads the article written by Arzu Geybullayeva published on the site of the Al Jazeera.

According to the article it's not that the international community isn't aware of the human rights situation in Azerbaijan about harassment, circus trials and routine crackdowns, but a decision to take certain measures is lagging - if not completely absent - from the discussion table.

Thorbjorn Jagland, Secretary General of the CoE, has called on the authorities of Azerbaijan to respect the fundamental principles and legally-binding standards of the European Convention on Human Rights, which they have undertaken to uphold when joining the Council of Europe.

The article notes that Azerbaijan is a vivid example of a dictatorship. Just a few days after Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Europe on May 15, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE, Anne Brasseur, called on the Azerbaijani government to "address urgently the deteriorated situation in the areas of freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly, reads the article.

There are no improvements in the human rights issue in Azerbaijan. On the contrary the recent increase in arrests of dissenters and activists is alarming, Geybullayeva reports.

“There are currently ten journalists, five bloggers and eight youth activists convicted on trumped-up charges and serving various sentences. According to Amnesty International, in 2013 there were at least 19 prisoners of conscience behind bars in Azerbaijan,” the article notes.

What all of these people have in common is their critical approach to the government's policies, for the government, however, they are dismissed as "hooligans" and "instigators of hate", "liars" and "drug addicts".

Ironically, Azerbaijan is also a member of the UN Human Rights Council. According to Article 8 of the Council's Charter, members guilty of gross and systematic violations of human rights are subject to suspension similar to the case with Libya in 2011.

“As if to make the already grim picture even worse, the CoE failed to accept a resolution on political prisoners in Azerbaijan last January,” the author notes.

"Isn’t it time that the Council of Europe took actions against such members as Azerbaijan?" wonders the journalist.