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The second paragraph of the Olympic Charter states: “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.” That line about human dignity matters a great deal, because the European Games of 2015 are about to be played in a country with a terrible human rights record — one that is growing only worse, The Washington Post writes.

As the article reads, according to an open letter from human rights activists, scholars and family members of those imprisoned, Azerbaijan has nearly 100 political prisoners, twice as many as Russia and Belarus combined. Arrests and detentions of journalists, civil society and human rights activists, religious believers and opposition figures have multiplied, the letter added. Moreover, the regime of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has targeted domestic and foreign NGOs, freezing their bank accounts and effectively paralyzing them, while senior government officials have “engaged in an ugly, anti-Western campaign.”

The games will not even come close to fulfilling Olympic ideals unless Mr. Hickey, the president of the European Olympic Committees, and others call attention to Azerbaijan’s deepening state of tyranny. The underside of a repressive government must be exposed before, during and after the athletic extravaganza, The Washington Post writes.

To start, Hickey should visit the imprisoned journalist Khadija Ismayilova, who investigated corruption for the Azerbaijani service of U.S.-financed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and has been in jail since December, 2014 on what she describes as politically motivated charges. One of the accusations for which she was initially arrested was that she had incited a man to attempt suicide, which Ms. Ismayilova denied; the man has now stated that he wants the charge withdrawn, the article reads.

The Washington Post also suggests that Mr. Hickey call attention to the unjust detention of rights activist Leyla Yunus and her husband, Arif, who were imprisoned as a way of silencing them, or any of the others “thrown into dark cells in Azerbaijan.”

“If Europe is to carry the Olympic flame into Baku, then it must be a flame that illuminates the terrible stain Mr. Aliyev is inflicting on Azerbaijan — that of human dignity denied,” The Washington Post concludes.

Related:

Human rights groups appeal to U.S. Secretary of State to boycott European games in Baku 

Hearings in Washington on Azerbaijan: Crackdowns only make ‘Baku Maydan’ more real