CNN: Human rights activists call Azerbaijan ‘Land of Repression’ on eve of European Games which cost 10bn to Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijan is known as "The Land of Fire" but an organization that fights for freedom of the press has dubbed it the "The Land of Repression." For Azerbaijan, however, hosting the Games is critically important in a broader plan to reinvent the country on the global stage. Its leaders want to use sport to change the way you see the country. To make that happen, President Ilham Aliyev reportedly has spent about $10 billion on this event. However, just days from the start of Baku 2015, human rights campaigners say the freedom of Azerbaijani citizens is now more restricted than ever, according to CNN.
"The past year, I would argue, has been the worst on record for human rights in Azerbaijan since the breakup of the Soviet Union," deputy director of Human Rights Watch Rachel Denber says. She added that she didn’t think it is fair to expect countries to have perfect transitions overnight, or maybe even in 24 years (since Soviet disintegration in the region, in 1991), but it is fair to expect them to not regress significantly.
CNN notes that Denber accuses Azerbaijani authorities of imprisoning dozens of political, youth, and human rights activists on spurious grounds, as the country clamps down on freedom of expression.
Azerbaijani journalist Mehman Huseynov told CNN that he was one of those targeted. Huseynov was arrested after helping to found a pro-democracy campaign during the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, also hosted by Azerbaijan. "I allegedly beat four or five police officers," Huseynov said, arguing the charge was laughable.
"They were waiting for the end of Eurovision to start the revenge campaign," the journalist added.
Huseynov says he has been barred from leaving Baku, let alone Azerbaijan, for most of the past four years. He believes his phone is tapped. "We are living in something like an 'empty society.' Everybody is frightened. Independent journalists are intimidated. International events are not helpful for us," he told CNN.
Related:
International organizations sound alarm: European Games to be hosted in Azerbaijan which is among top 10 press jailers
The Guardian: Demonstration of ‘prosperity’ of Azerbaijan before tourists and guests of European Games cost 16 people's lives
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