Dispatches: Is Azerbaijan the Company the EU Wants to Keep?

The government has done nothing to ease its aggressive crackdown on its critics.

Critics, or perceived opponents, convicted in politically motivated trials in the last two years, are serving long prison sentences, and some in detention can’t access essential medical care. Authorities intimidate and harass lawyers, political activists, bloggers, and relatives of journalists and human rights defenders who’ve fled into exile. Draconian rules prevent independent groups doing human rights work from securing foreign funding. As a result, victims of human rights violations who have relied on these groups’ legal aid and other services now have few options for meaningful recourse.

In a recent letter, six groups, including Human Rights Watch, urged Mogherini to use her discussions with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on a new Partnership Agreement to make clear that the government’s attack on human rights is incompatible with partnership negotiations. Mogherini should specifically call for: