Azerbaijan accused of cracking down on critics ahead of COP29

Several planetary quality rights organizations person raised alarm astir Azerbaijan’s crackdown connected rights defenders, authorities critics and journalists earlier the commencement of the COP29 clime alteration league presently being held successful its capital, Baku.

“We impulse each delegation attending COP29 to property the Azerbaijani authorities to extremity its clampdown connected civilian society, warrant the rights to state of expression, relation and peaceful assembly passim and beyond the conference, and instrumentality meaningful enactment to reverse the deterioration of quality rights successful the country,” Amnesty International said successful a connection earlier the commencement of the lawsuit connected Nov. 11.

The United Nations’ yearly league connected combating planetary warming, COP29, began past week arsenic the Azerbaijani authorities escalated its crackdown connected authorities critics.

Azerbaijani authorities person jailed astatine slightest 14 journalists since November 2023. Many of them are facing charges of currency smuggling. All of them contradict the allegations, calling them bogus.

On November 12, a radical of Azerbaijani civilian nine representatives issued an unfastened entreaty to COP29 participants, claiming that aft Azerbaijan was announced arsenic the league big successful December 2023, the country's authorities began to soundlessness dissidents and alternate voices.

“In a abbreviated play of time, absorption leaders, quality rights defenders, socio-political activists, autarkic media organizations, including the leaders and employees of 'Abzas Media,' 'Toplum TV,' 'Kanal 13,' and the civilian nine enactment Institute for Democratic Initiatives, were detained connected politically motivated charges. The proceedings of those arrested was postponed until December, arsenic they coincided with COP29,” they said.

The Azerbaijani government, which has rejected accusations that the arrests were politically motivated, insists that journalists and activists are being detained "on the ground of credible suspicions of violations of idiosyncratic articles of the Criminal Code [of the Republic of Azerbaijan]."

Climate alteration and quality rights

On Tuesday, COP29 hosted a statement titled “No Climate Justice Without Civic Space and Meaningful Participation,” organized by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and respective different quality rights organizations.

After the event, Fuad Hasanov, caput of the nongovernmental enactment Democratic Monitor, told VOA that the main taxable of the statement was that it is intolerable to clasp discussions connected clime alteration successful an situation wherever the abstraction for civilian nine is limited.

Panel members besides called connected Azerbaijani authorities to merchandise each governmental prisoners, including journalists, and to make conditions for the escaped cognition of autarkic civilian nine institutions and the media.

In a missive to President Ilham Aliyev published connected Monday, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty besides urged the contiguous merchandise of each governmental prisoners.

“I stock with you my interest astir the caller arrests of a fig of quality rights defenders, journalists and civilian nine activists,” O'Flaherty said successful the letter.

O'Flaherty said that arsenic a subordinate of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan should make a harmless situation for quality rights.

“I impulse the Azerbaijani authorities to instrumentality the indispensable steps to guarantee that each laws and practices successful transportation with freedoms of association, assembly and look and the concern of quality rights defenders, journalists and civilian nine activists successful the state comply with applicable Council of Europe quality rights standards,” O'Flaherty said.

Rufat Safarov, enforcement manager of the quality rights enactment Defense Line, told VOA that the 29th yearly U.N. Climate Change Conference should not person been held successful Baku. He said this legitimizes the country's authorities, who contradict cardinal rights and freedoms successful Azerbaijan, connected the planetary stage.

"In an situation wherever instrumentality is worthless, quality rights are ignored, governmental rights are denied, unit has go the authoritative authorities policy, and determination are 319 governmental prisoners, holding COP29 successful Baku serves the interests of the repressive authorities astatine best," Safarov said.

Azerbaijan response

The unsigned effect missive from Azerbaijani authorities to the Council of Europe commissioner emphasizes that Azerbaijan remains committed to upholding its planetary obligations, including those nether planetary quality rights law, and ensuring the information and state of each persons. The missive was made disposable connected the Council of Europe commissioner’s website Monday.

The missive stated: “It should beryllium emphasized that nary writer oregon media typical is being targeted for carrying retired their nonrecreational enactment successful Azerbaijan. Every individual, irrespective of their standing, is adjacent earlier the instrumentality and is expected to adhere to the authorities successful force, arsenic this forms the instauration of the regularisation of instrumentality principle.

“Therefore, it is of utmost value to workout owed diligence and refrain from immoderate actions, particularly calling for contiguous merchandise of the persons nether transgression investigation, that whitethorn beryllium construed arsenic interfering with the judicial process.”

Lawmaker Bahruz Maharramov, a subordinate of the parliament’s Human Rights Committee, told VOA connected Thursday that the attacks connected Azerbaijan from the West nether the guise of quality rights and ideology connected the eve of and during COP29 are “an instrumentality for inexpensive imperialist intentions.”

“In this sense, the claims and statements of those circles are irrelevant for us, and we rightly see these claims to beryllium portion of a smear run against Azerbaijan,” helium said.

This communicative originated successful VOA’s Azerbaijani Service.