Your trusted source

International human rights organization Human Rights Watch has issued a Reporters’ Guide with information about Azerbaijan relevant to those planning to report from the 2015 European Games. The information covers political and economic aspects but has a special focus on how the country acts up to human rights. According to HRW, the protection of human rights in the host country is not sufficiently upheld.

“As the Azerbaijani government is welcoming all of Europe for this new sporting event, it is cracking down harder than ever on its critics,” said HRW associate Europe and Central Asia director Jane Buchanan. She also added that government repression is making these games historic for all the wrong reasons, and it’s important for journalists to capture what is going on in Azerbaijan.

International sport organization focused on human rights Sport for Rights Coalition and its members in a joint letter called on representatives of European National Olympic Committees to pay attention to the unprecedented and mounting crackdown in Azerbaijan, which has resulted in dozens of political arrests, including prominent journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists, international human rights organization International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) writes.

''In the run-up to the European Games, which will take place in Baku from 12-28 June, we ask you to publicly support the Azerbaijani people and their rights to free expression, association, and other fundamental freedoms,'' the letter reads.

It is noted in the letter that last summer, a group of Azerbaijani human rights activists launched the Sport for Rights campaign. The campaign has a simple objective: to draw attention to the human rights situation in Azerbaijan in the context of the European Games. As evidenced by hundreds of credible reports by media outlets, NGOs and governments, the response of the Azerbaijani government to the very idea of this peaceful and legitimate initiative has been truly unprecedented repression. Since August 2014, the Azerbaijani authorities have undertaken a major crackdown on government critics, resulting in arrests, trumped-up criminal convictions, and prison sentences for key activists, as well as the closure of dozens of civil society organizations and outlets. The authorities continue to stifle dissent and clamp down on critics. Among them, the Azerbaijani activist Rasul Jafarov, the leading human rights defender Intigam Aliyev, Leyla Yunus, journalist Khadija Ismayilova and others.

These individuals, along with dozens of other political prisoners, were targeted following their criticism of Azerbaijan’s human rights record at the international level. ''We are addressing these concerns to you, representatives of the European National Olympic Committees, as you have the power to help. Despite its repression at home, the Azerbaijani government cares deeply about its international reputation, as evidenced by the vast resources spent to promote a positive image abroad. In the run-up to the European Games, we believe that public condemnation of the crackdown by bodies such as yours could help achieve tangible, democratic change at this crucial time,'' the letter reads.

International organization Reporters Without Borders in its turn urges Azerbaijan to release all imprisoned journalists and bloggers immediately. The organization also calls on the European Olympic Committees to speak out against the repressions against media representatives in the host country of the sporting event.

“It’s an unbearable nation that President Ilham Aliyev should be allowed to present himself as the host of a major sporting event while at the same time his regime incarcerates journalists for critical investigations and comments. The European Olympic Committees should not make themselves Aliyev’s accomplices, but should expressly condemn the repression of press freedom in the run-up to and during the Games,” RWB Germany’s executive director Christian Mihr said. 

It is notes in the statement that media in Azerbaijan have become victims of the surge of repression since last summer. The office of RFE/RL has remained closed since a police raid in late December 2014. Independent newspaper Zerkalo had to cease its print issue because it could no longer cover its running expenses after due to the interference of state authorities. The main opposition newspaper Azadliq is at the brink of ruin. Heavy fines and increasing limitations of the channels of distribution by the state have also added to the pressure on Azadliq. TV and radio broadcasters are already controlled by the state.

According to information, the targets of state repression also include non-governmental organizations supporting media freedom. The bank accounts of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS), the Azerbaijan section of US organization IREX and the Media Rights Institute (MRI) were frozen. IRFS director Emin Huseynov has held out in the Swiss Embassy in Baku since August 2014. Past week the European Court of Human Rights awarded 15.000 euros of compensation to Huseynov for being arbitrarily arrested by Azerbaijani authorities in 2008 and abused in police custody.

The statement also reads that at the beginning of February 2015, two further restrictions of the media law took effect. A media outlet can now be shut down if it is found to receive financial support from abroad – which affects especially independent media that are often reliant on international support because of governmental control of ad markets. Additionally, media outlets can now also be shut down if they are convicted of defamation twice within a year. Azerbaijan is ranked 160th out of 180 countries in the2015 RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.

Related:

Social media users draw attention to human rights situation in Azerbaijan with European Games’ hashtag

Breaking point in Azerbaijan: Promotion and glamour abroad, repression and imprisonment at home