Human rights defenders hold protests in front of Azerbaijani Embassies in different countries
In Kiev, activists from human rights organizations held a picket in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Ukraine to demand the release of the political prisoners and put an end to the repressions against the civil society in that country, West Ukrainian Information Corporation (ZIK) reports.
According to the report, twenty activists picketed in front of the Azerbaijani diplomatic representation holding posters with the photos of human rights defenders and oppositionists well-known in Azerbaijan who are now behind bars or are persecuted by the authorities.
“I am holding the picture of the chairman of the Human Rights Club, Rasul Jafarov. He was sentenced to 6.5 years of imprisonment on a trumped-up case being accused of economic crimes. But really, the activist was punished for his human rights work,” Dinara, a picketer, said.
ZIK says the picketers from Kiev Human Right House called their protest “Breaking point in Azerbaijan: Promotion and glamour abroad, repression and imprisonment at home” and planned it to coincide with the opening of the first European Games in Azerbaijan.
“It is just a mockery to hold the European Games in a country that has none of the European values starting with the respect for the human rights. Even though the Azerbaijani authorities publicly declare democracy, the human rights defenders’ persecutions do not stop. We demand the release of the prisoners of conscience,” one of the picketers and expert from the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Darya Svidirova, said.
The campaigners demanded that an Azerbaijani Embassy representative come up to them, but none of the diplomats appeared. A security guard came up to the protesters and told them the Embassy staffers said a personal meeting with the Ambassador or his assistants is only possible after making an appointment. The campaigners decided to send their claims to the Azerbaijani Embassy via mail.
The information agency Turan reports that on June 12 a group of international human rights defenders held a protest in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy in London in the framework of the campaign Sport for Rights. The protesters demanded the release of the political prisoners in Azerbaijan with posters showing the photos of the human rights defenders Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliyev, Leyla Yunus, Emin Huseynov, and the journalists Khadija Ismayilova and Seymur Hezi.
Turan says the activists wore T-shirts with slogans calling for the release of the above-mentioned people. They also held a poster “Criticism is not a crime.” The protest is planned for the same day as the opening ceremony of the European Games. Similar protests are planned in other European cities as well.
According to RFE/RL report, in Prague, activists staged a demonstration to draw attention to human rights violations in Azerbaijan – where the European Games have begun. They held a mock boxing match in which a civil society activist was about to defeat a policeman – but then reinforcements arrived. The commentator said this was in breach of the Olympic spirit.
On 12-28 June, Baku is hosting the first European Games under the auspices of the European Olympic Committee. According to media estimates, the Games will cost the Azerbaijani population $10 billion. However, they have become a serious headache for the locals with numerous bans and demolition of property. The preparatory works for the Games are accompanied by crackdowns and brutal repressions against dissent.
Related:
British journalist is deported from Baku and Amnesty International is denied entry to Azerbaijan
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