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The EU should call for a boycott of the European Games of 2015 in Baku. Writes the Azerbaijani journalist Shahin Abbasov in an article published on the website of the American organization “EurasiaNet”.

As noted in the article, it was the first time that the European Union voiced in the document the idea of implementing sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for human rights violations in that country and this gave the activists a hope. President Barack Obama on Tuesday in a speech in New York at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) touched on the human rights problem in Azerbaijan. "In countries such as Azerbaijan, NGO laws are so tightened that they cannot even work," said Barack Obama.

On 18 September the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation of human rights in Azerbaijan. MEPs called on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately begin implementation of long-overdue reforms in the human rights area, to cease harassing civil society organizations and the opposition politicians and independent journalists, the publication reads.

On June 24 the delegation of non-governmental organizations of Azerbaijan within the frameworks of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg presented the list of political prisoners of the country. The list includes 81 names. The document reads that the Azerbaijani authorities should immediately release the political prisoners. During the last few years the situation with human rights in Azerbaijan has deteriorate due to the serious intensification of repressions, harassment and intimidation of NGOs, civil society activists, journalists and human rights defenders. Representatives of non-governmental organizations Emin Huseynov, Matanat Azizov, were forced to leave the country because of persecution by the authorities.

The article also notes that the mission of the UN Sub-Committee against Torture, that carries out its mandate in the framework of the UN Convention against Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, canceled its visit to Azerbaijan and prematurely left the country because of the obstacles it faced.

“The ruling regime has come to believe that Europe’s energy security is fully in Baku’s hands and, therefore, nobody will take actions about human-rights violations,” commented Natig Jafarly, executive secretary of the ReAl (Republican Alternative) movement, “But the EU needs 500 billion cubic meters of gas annually, while Azerbaijan only as of 2019 will be able to supply a maximum of 10 billion cubic meters,” he continued.

The coordinator of Political Freedoms Defense Alliance Samir Kazimly too positively praised the resolution of the European Parliament. According to him, the West is moving from words to actions. The threat of sanctions should serve an alarm, which could be followed by concrete measures.

However, the European Council has not yet responded to the resolution, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, however, argues that the resolution is intended to harm the relations with the EU. Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Ahmedov, called the resolution "prejudiced and biased." According to him, Azerbaijan is an independent state and has the right to determine its own destiny.