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Harassment of the human rights activists in Azerbaijan continues, despite the country's chairmanship in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, reads the statement of the IFEX. Other international human rights organization such as Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, Index on Censorship joined it too.

"The persecution of human rights defenders in Azerbaijan continues, despite the commitment of the country, that is a member of the Council of Europe and is presiding the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe," read the statement.
As informs the Prague Post, Emin Mammadov from Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center, while in Prague expressed regret that the Czech Republic is currently promoting the development of economic and political relations with Azerbaijan, and is not paying attention to the situation of human rights activists in the country.

As noted in the article Emil Mammadli is accompanying Asaf Mammadov, father of Anar Mammadli, this year's winner of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, to Prague.

It is also noted that Czech President Miloš Zeman strongly advocates cooperation with the regime in Azerbaijan, whose authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev attended this year's summit of the Eastern Partnership at Zeman's invitation.

Emin Mammadli said many human rights activists have been imprisoned in Azerbaijan on charges of tax frauds and embezzlement. The activists have problems financing their activities because the government has banned NGOs from accepting gifts from abroad, he added.

Head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center Anar Mammadov was arrested on December 17, 2013. He was sentenced by the Baku Court of Grave Crimes to 5.5 years in prison on charges of illegal business and tax evasion. Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center monitored the presidential elections held on October 9, 2013 as a non-governmental organization and registered numerous violations of the law, the article reads.

Azerbaijani radio Liberty reported that an Azerbaijani investigative journalist has been told that she faces arrest upon her return to Baku from a trip to meet with members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.

She told RFE/RL in a telephone interview that upon returning from her trip, she will be facing arrest. "I believe they want me either not to go back to Azerbaijan. They have to understand that this is not the way to deal with me. I traveled to Strasbourg because all the rights activists who met with European parliamentarians in previous years have either been jailed or are in hiding," stated Ismailova.
Khadija Ismayilova is author of a number of journalistic investigations on corruption in the highest echelons of power in Azerbaijan. In recent years, she holds a talk show in the Azerbaijani service of Radio "Liberty."

In the prisons of Azerbaijan there are now 98 political prisoners, including 14 independent journalists and bloggers, according to the article.