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"The Azerbaijani government took away the wrong lessons from the Euromaidan movement in Ukraine. They’ve decided to neutralize any threat of public dissent if Azeri President Aliyev goes the way of Yanukovich. The politicians want to make sure that any civil society leader who could oppose them is either in jail, in hiding, or scared. Every single civil society leader in Azerbaijan is in trouble," Khadija Ismayilova told RFE/RL in a telephone interview.

Rights groups say authorities in Azerbaijan have unleashed a campaign of repression in recent months, putting the country’s most visible and influential independent activists and advocates behind bars. Among the most prominent is human rights activist Leyla Yunus, who was arrested and imprisoned with her husband Arif this summer. As head of the Baku-based Institute for Peace and Democracy, Yunus has been an outspoken advocate for dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and on behalf of political prisoners, positions that have placed her in conflict with the country’s leaders. She was arrested on charges of treason that are widely viewed as politically motivated and punitive.

"I haven’t been given any official explanation of what this is about. There was a statement given to the media by the Prosecutor General’s office saying they need me as a witness in an investigation, but I don’t know what that is or why they need me. The travel ban has been in effect for more than two weeks, but they haven’t summoned me for interrogation. I have already missed two international events I was planning to attend, and I have events in November that I will miss. I have been advised by my lawyer that there is no legal basis for this travel ban," stated Ismayilova.

According to her, it’s devastating how eager Western governments are to please Azerbaijan despite these activities.

"Like when EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton and European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele made statements welcoming the release of four jailed activists. These activists were forced to sign statements asking for clemency. They had to go to the cemetery and bow at the grave of former Azeri President Heydar Aliyev, all the while being filmed. And we have European officials welcoming this? It’s impossible. It serves to reward a corrupt government. By praising them for unworthy actions, it encourages them to use detentions as a way to get praise when they finally release people," said Khadija Ismayilova.

According to Ismayilova, Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland didn’t come to Azerbaijan when he was invited for a conference on the European Court of Human Rights. This is the right policy-not to engage with a country that claims it supports democracy but doesn’t really mean it. The problem is that he didn’t explain why he didn’t come. He needs to be public about it.

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."