A View from Baku at the Democracy Summit

While US President Joe Biden prepares for the Democracy Summit (Summit of Leaders in Support of Democracy), which is scheduled for December 9-10, at a distance of 9674 km from Washington - in Baku, the police are demonstratively brutally beating the Azerbaijani opposition leader Tofig Yagublu, knocking out his eyes.

At the same time, the non-party Saleh Rustamov is on a hunger strike in prison, demanding his release, where he was imprisoned in February 2019 on trumped-up charges.

And in the center of Baku, the mothers of the innocently tortured and convicted military in the so-called "Terter case" picket the presidential administration demanding justice - the rehabilitation and release of their sons, whose innocence has been trumpeted by social networks for two years, bringing to light new witnesses of mass people tortured by the investigation.

At the same time, the non-party Saleh Rustamov is on a hunger strike in prison, demanding his release, where he was imprisoned in February 2019 on trumped-up charges.

And in the center of Baku, the mothers of innocent tortured and convicted convicted in the so-called "terter case" military personnel picket the presidential administration demanding justice - the rehabilitation and release of their sons, whose innocence has been trumpeted by social networks for two years, bringing to light new and new witnesses of mass people tortured by the investigation.

Azerbaijan, which Freedom House classifies as a non-free country, like other similar states, was not invited to the summit of the US President long before the demonstrative beating of Yagublu. Some experts are inclined to view the demonstrative violence as the Aliyev administration's response to the American assessment of the regime's policy on democracy and human rights.

Conspiracy theorists believe that behind these large-scale violations of wide public interest lies an intra-government struggle and strong opponents of Aliyev are trying to finally undermine his reputation in the eyes of the West.

These statements sound against the background of unfavorable reports of international organizations, which from year to year record the deterioration of the situation with human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan.

In September this year, Azerbaijan was ranked among the countries with a non-free Internet, in the rating of the countries of the world according to the freedom of the press index Azerbaijan ranked 167th, the institute of rapporteur on Azerbaijani political prisoners was established in the Council of Europe, which is not even close to neighboring Caucasian countries.

Such reports seriously undermine the international image of the country (including the government and the people in general), which this year marks the 30th anniversary of independence acquired as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, the repressive system increases the degree of tension in society, which has recently been neutralized thanks to the pandemic with its limitations and the victory in the war with Armenia, which has brought a certain amount of national euphoria into the gray life.

The President and his administration have not yet expressed their attitude to targeted public calls for the release of Saleh Rustamov, bringing to justice those who fabricated the "Terter case", just as no assessment has been expressed on the fact of the beating of Yagublu.

Maintaining this status quo will inevitably strengthen the arguments of those who directly accuse the president and his closest circle of pursuing a policy of suppressing rights and freedoms. In this case, we may become witnesses of yet another demonstrative punishment of dissidents and intensification of political repression.

Azerbaijan, which Freedom House classifies as a non-free country, like other similar states, was not invited to the summit of the US President long before the demonstrative beating of Yagublu. Some experts are inclined to view the demonstrative violence as the Aliyev administration's response to the American assessment of the regime's policy on democracy and human rights.

Conspiracy theorists believe that behind these large-scale violations of wide public interest lies an intra-government struggle and strong opponents of Aliyev are trying to finally undermine his reputation in the eyes of the West.

These statements sound against the background of unfavorable reports of international organizations, which from year to year record the deterioration of the situation with human rights and freedoms in Azerbaijan.

In September this year, Azerbaijan was ranked among the countries with a non-free Internet, in the rating of the countries of the world according to the freedom of the press index Azerbaijan ranked 167th, the institute of rapporteur on Azerbaijani political prisoners was established in the Council of Europe, which is not even close to neighboring Caucasian countries.

Such reports seriously undermine the international image of the country (including the government and the people in general), which this year marks the 30th anniversary of independence acquired as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, the repressive system increases the degree of tension in society, which has recently been neutralized thanks to the pandemic with its limitations and the victory in the war with Armenia, which has brought a certain amount of national euphoria into the gray life.

The President and his administration have not yet expressed their attitude to targeted public calls for the release of Saleh Rustamov, bringing to justice those who fabricated the "Terter case", just as no assessment has been expressed on the fact of the beating of Yagublu.

Maintaining this status quo will inevitably strengthen the arguments of those who directly accuse the president and his closest circle of pursuing a policy of suppressing rights and freedoms. In this case, we may become witnesses of yet another demonstrative punishment of dissidents and intensification of political repression.

Mehman Aliyev