The criminal case against the human rights activist Oktay Gyulalyev was closed on October 20 after 4 years and 6 months, Gyulalyev told Turan IA, explaining this with the October 25 Astana meeting of Extracting Industry Transparency Initiative.
"Earlier, the management of this international organization put a condition before the authorities of Azerbaijan - to cease harassment of civil society and create conditions for their work, otherwise Azerbaijan will be excluded from this structure," said Gyulalyev.
Recalling that last year Azerbaijan’s status in this structure was lowered, Gyulalaev expressed regret that the authorities did not fulfill their promises and continued to suppress civil society.
"The government has only partially fulfilled the requirements of the international community. They however refused to unfreeze the bank accounts, to stop the prosecution and lift the ban on leaving the country by civil society activists," he said.
At the same time, the authorities are trying to take steps to mitigate all these limitations. However, it is too early to talk about a change of attitude towards civil society, he added.
"It will be possible to talk about changing the situation when the government cancels restrictive changes to the legislation that block the activity of independent NGOs.
In addition, the government should abandon hostility to civil society, stop calling us a "fifth column" serving the interests of hostile foreign forces, return seized property and real estate," he said. -03B-
Difficult question
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In recent developments that highlight the fraught nature of American politics, the Trump administration’s scrutinizing gaze has fallen upon the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a key player in the global outreach efforts of the U.S. government. This move has stirred a discourse that spans beyond U.S. borders, roping in responses from Azerbaijani pro-government media and eliciting comments from local political figures like Natig Jafarli, chairman of the REAL Party in Azerbaijan.
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The municipal elections in Azerbaijan, held on January 29, took place without significant public interest or pre-election activity, according to an election law expert. Official data from the Central Election Commission (CEC) reported a voter turnout of 31.45%, but independent observers have cast doubt on this figure.
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The absence of Azerbaijan's delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) winter session has sparked questions about the country’s participation in the European institution. According to sources in Azerbaijan's parliament, PACE did not send an official invitation to Azerbaijan, as participation requires such an invitation to be issued.
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Azerbaijani pro-government media have unleashed an unexpected wave of anti-Russian rhetoric, including claims of espionage at the "Russian House" and accusations that the opposition National Council has ties with Moscow. Chairman of the National Council of Democratic Forces Jamil Hasanli dismissed the allegations as baseless, describing them as part of a smear campaign by the government to shift attention from its own close ties with the Kremlin.
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