Society 19:19 12/02/2015

Azerbaijani human rights defender hides in Swiss Embassy to Baku saving himself from authority crackdowns

Azerbaijani human rights defender Emin Huseynov is forced to hide in Swiss embassy to Baku since 18 August, 2014 to escape the crackdowns of the authorities of the country, ''Caucasian Knot'' reports referring to the Norway fund ''Human Rights House.''

As the article has it, he hid after the Azerbaijani authorities searched the office of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) that was under his charge, and confiscated the equipment and documents. The office of the organisation remains sealed since 11 August, 2014, and the employees are called to interrogation.

According to the article, Florian Irminger, the head of the Geneva office of the organisation considers that Switzerland should go on supporting the Azerbaijani human rights defender on humanitarian grounds.

''His stay at the Embassy is justified with the crackdowns level in the country, false charges against human rights defenders in Azerbaijan, and the impossibility to defend oneself in the court because of the lack of judicial system independence in the country and pressure on their lawyers,'' he claimed.

The Azerbaijani human right defender's health problems are also pointed out in the statement. Many of the problems are the consequences by the Azerbaijani police beatings in 2003 and in 2008.

''Imprisonment in Azerbaijani prisons, well-known for their poor state, would present a major risk to Emin Huseynov’s health. The lack of access to the needed medical relief for Leyla Yunus and Intigam Aliyev in pre-trial detention further underlines that Azerbaijani authorities do not take all necessary measures to ensure that the health of inmates does not suffer any harm,” Irminger stressed.

As the statement has it, Huseynov is facing various criminal charges, similar to the ones held against human rights defender Rasul Jafarov and human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, accused of tax evasion, illegal business and abuse of authority. Leyla Yunus and her husband Arif Yunus were charged on similar charges. On 26 May 2014, Anar Mammadli and Bashir Suleymanli of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre were sentenced to respectively 5 years and 6 months imprisonment and 3 years and 6 months on same charges.

Huseynov’s family is facing various kinds of pressure from the Azerbaijani authorities, the statement reads. ''On 10 November 2014, the blogger Mehman Huseynov, brother of Emin and also an IRFS employee, was stopped and interrogated at the Baku Airport. He was issued a travel ban. On 1 December 2014, the identity cards of Mehman Huseynov were confiscated based on unclear grounds. The authorities have also interrogated the mother of Huseynov. Employees of IRFS are also questioned and put under pressure by the authorities. On 26 January lawyer Gunay Ismayilov of IRFS was attacked outside her apartment in the evening,'' the statement notes.

On 11 February 2015 by the television show “Rundschau” of the Swiss Radio Television, he has, since August 2014, been living at the Swiss Embassy in Azerbaijan.

As ''Radio Liberty'' referring to SRF TV-channel reported, Emin Huseynov could save himself from the prosecutions of the Azerbaijani police ''pretending himself a Swiss citizen'', ''Caucasian Knot'' writes.

According to the article, Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed in the programme “Rundschau” that they had provided the Azerbaijani human rights defender with shelter on humanitarian grounds.

''Since then we've been discussing the matter with the Azerbaijani officials in order to find a solution to the situation,'' the Swiss Foreign Ministry written response reads.



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

15:34
Politician slams Pashinyan's Artsakh claims as 'a blatant lie'
Opposition politician Eduard Sharmazanov, a senior member of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), has lambasted Armenian Prime...
14:33
Bashar al-Assad's wife reportedly files for divorce
The British wife of Syria’s deposed president Bashar al-Assad, Asma al-Assad, has filed for divorce after expressing dissatisfaction with...
14:07
Opposition MP: Armenian leaders focused on justifying themselves amid Azerbaijan's military buildup
The intensive mutual visits of Azerbaijani and Turkish military officials are largely part of a plan to reform Azerbaijan’s armed forces,...
13:30
Trump pledges to stop 'transgender lunacy'
President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to "stop the transgender lunacy" on day one of his presidency, AFP reported....
13:08
Yerevan mayor addresses criticism over expensive US trip
Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan has addressed criticism over his expensive flight tickets for a trip to the U.S. in November. The...
12:34
Famous ophthalmologist Alexander Malayan dies at 76
Renowned ophthalmologist Alexander Malayan has passed away at the age of 76, YSMU Rector Armen Muradyan broke the news on Facebook on...
12:15
Boy injured as drones fall from sky at Florida holiday show
A holiday drone show in Florida was forced to cancel its second performance due to an injury this weekend. Andrea Otero, the City of Orlando...
12:06
Armenia ballet artists perform 'The Nutcracker' in Italy
Ballet artists from the Yerevan Opera Theater have started a concert tour to Italy to perform their adaptation of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's...
11:35
Pashinyan admits 'a big mistake' over Karabakh negotiation process
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claims the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process completely focused on its return to Azerbaijan since the...
11:15
Drivers warned about icy roads in Armenia's Syunik
The Rescue Service has warned drivers about road closure in Armenia on Monday morning. In particular, the road linking the Amberd high...
11:00
Putin meets Slovak PM in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin held surprise talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at the Kremlin on Sunday to discuss the future of...
17:30
Expert blasts My Step Foundation's 'unacceptable' response to Panorama.am
Shushan Doydoyan, President of the Freedom of Information Center of Armenia (FOICA), has denounced the My Step Charitable Foundation’s...
16:30
US avoids government shutdown with last-minute funding bill
The US Senate has voted to pass a budget deal to avert what would be the first federal government shutdown since 2019, only hours after the...
16:01
Barack Obama's top 10 movies of 2024 includes ‘Anora' starring Armenian actors
Barack Obama has shared his favorite movies of the year, continuing what has become an annual list-making tradition from the former...
15:36
None of Baku's demands meets strong opposition from Pashinyan's government, MP says
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government does not strongly oppose any of the demands listed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for a...
15:00
WhatsApp wins legal case against Pegasus spyware maker
WhatsApp has prevailed against Israeli spyware maker NSO Group in a US lawsuit over NSO’s abuse of the messaging app to enable the...
14:34
Armenian woman named Female Business Leader of the Year
Amalya Yeghoyan, Executive Director of the Gyumri Information Technologies Center (GITC), has been named the Female Business Leader of the...
14:01
Saturday is the winter solstice and 2024's shortest day
The 2024 winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, happens on Saturday, Dec. 21, in the Northern Hemisphere. The celestial event signifies...
13:36
Light snow expected in parts of Armenia
Dry weather is expected in Armenia’s regions on Saturday, Monday and later next week. Light snow is forecast for some parts of the...
13:06
'A new level of cynicism': UJA slams My Step Foundation's response to Panorama.am
The Union of Journalists of Armenia (UJA) on Friday issued a statement denouncing the My Step Foundation’s inappropriate response to...
12:30
Turkish FM calls for fair approach in promoting Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Ankara on Friday. They discussed, among other...
12:05
Ruben Vardanyan held in 'complete isolation' in Baku prison, his son says
David Vardanyan, the son of former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, has revealed that his father is being held in “complete...
11:31
Pashinyan extends birthday greetings to Macron
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to French President Emmanuel Macron on his birthday. Below...
11:17
Armenian church commemorates St Abgar
The Armenian Apostolic Church on Saturday commemorates St Apkar (Abgar), a martyr of the church and our first Christian King....
11:05
Magnitude 4.5 earthquake hits Artsakh, felt in Armenia
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) last night. The quake occurred 30 km south of the town of Karvachar (Kelbajar)...
17:06
Armenia-Azerbaijan peace efforts remain 'an area of vital importance' to Biden administration – State Dept.
The Biden administration will continue working on the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations until the last day in office, State...
16:39
Artur Vanetsyan issues message on National Security Officer's Day
Major-General Artur Vanetsyan, the former director of Armenia's National Security Service, issued a congratulatory message on the National...
16:13
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan to address people live on Saturday
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the Holy Struggle movement, will address the people in a Facebook live on Saturday. “We...
15:36
MP Hovik Aghazaryan's wife dies
The wife of former Civil Contract faction MP Hovik Aghazaryan passed away last night. The lawmaker confirmed the news to Tert.am....
15:07
Panorama.am calls attention to My Step Foundation's inadequate response to request for information
The costs of the Italy trip of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, have been kept strictly secret. Moreover,...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}