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Civil society activists in Azerbaijan may be deprived of the last platform to hold their discussions. Azerbaijani National Committee of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly is under threat of losing its office where the meetings of the Committee for Civil Society Protection (CCSP) have recently been held, Azerbaijani information agency Turan reports citing the appeal of the Centre for Monitoring Political Prisoners (CMPP) to the Western governments and international organizations.

According to the article, as a result of freezing the projects of civil society institutes Helsinki Assembly is not able to pay the office rent which may lead to the expulsion of the organization.

The appeal states that liquidation and expulsion of democratic institutions from Azerbaijan has set on since 2013. Free Thought University closed down ahead of presidential elections in Azerbaijan.

“Soon the crackdowns on civil society activists began. Well-known human rights defenders Leyla Yunus and her husband conflictologist Arif Yunus, lawyer Intigam Aliyev, Rasul Jafarov, Anar Mammadli have been arrested, American organization IREX has closed down, the bank accounts of more than 30 CCSP member NGOs have been frozen and criminal cases have been initiated against them. This has paralyzed the civil society activities,” the appeal reads. It also stresses that Helsinki Assembly’s closing down in Azerbaijan will bring about grave consequences, and “the population will lose its trust for EU and US” once and for all.

Azerbaijani National Committee of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly and its leader Arzu Abdullayeva have carried out a huge work in Azerbaijan in the sphere of human rights, including the release of political prisoners, monitoring elections. Today this organization is on the verge of closing down.

The agency reminds that the Committee was founded in 2009 when the first wave of reactionary amendments in the legislation about NGOs commenced in Azerbaijan. Then it comprised around 100 independent NGOs, including organizations whose leaders are currently arrested. Today around 20 activists are actively engaged in the works of the Committee conditioned by the criminal persecution of many NGOs and the arrests of the leaders of some of them.

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