The human rights situation in Azerbaijan is getting worse

Baku/11.06.21/Turan: In the "Difficult Question" program of Turan news agency, political observer Nasimi Mammadli commented on the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh brought up by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the course of the trial in the case of the accused in the incident during the rally on July 14, 2020, and other political issues.

According to Mammadli, the reaction of the authorities to the actions of those who called for the liberation of Karabakh from the occupation is inadequate. The judicial investigation established that the activists of the Popular Front and others have not committed any illegal actions.

The approach of law enforcement and the court is bewildering. In theory, they should apologize to the activists and compensate them for losses. Actually, the fact that during the trial the prosecutor asked to convict the accused conditionally indicates that the authorities understand that they have gone too far and the society will not understand the imprisonment of activists.

Mammadli noted that the situation with human rights in Azerbaijan has been increasingly aggravated over the past ten years. From time to time, the authorities arrest citizens, release them, then arrest again, and sometimes even torture them. This practice must end.

Recently the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "the status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be agreed with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs (Russia, USA, France), but not now."

The political observer recalled that earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin also said that the status issue had not yet been resolved and it must be agreed. This is done in order to exert pressure on Azerbaijan, to strike a blow at the unity of the people, and to show that the fate of Karabakh is in the hands of the Great Powers.

“We remember well that before we were told that the return of the occupied territories is possible only if Karabakh is granted status,” Mammadli said, adding that the international community should understand that this would not happen.

Mammadli stressed that during the 44th war, the Armenian Armed Forces were practically defeated. Therefore, in order to prevent the final defeat of Armenia, Russia was forced to send troops to Karabakh. It was a message: to Armenia - we are your savior, to Azerbaijan - the last word will always be with us. However, in reality, Russia is not at all interested in a new war, because if it flares up, there are no guarantees that other players will not be drawn into it.

The situation is further complicated for Russia by the fact that the Armenian society is inclined towards the West, many institutions in the country are set up in the same way, the Church and most of the Diaspora are also pro-Western. Therefore, Russia wants to strengthen its position in Armenia with the help of its fifth column.

As for the proposal made on June 8 by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to exchange his son for all Armenian prisoners of war, this is pure populism intended for an internal audience and an appeal to the world community. You shouldn't even pay attention to it. — 0—