Hearings on Azerbaijan will be held within the framework of the session of the UN Human Rights Council

"Media and civil society of Azerbaijan under pressure on the eve of the COP29 conference" is the theme of the event to be held on March 15 in Geneva within the framework of the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The event is organized by the Norwegian Foundation "House of Human Rights".

Azerbaijani journalists in political emigration: Arzu Geybulla, Leyla Mustafayeva and representative of the Norwegian Foundation "House of Human Rights" Keti Abashidze will speak at the event.

A statement of the Foundation said that after the review of Azerbaijan by the UN Human Rights Council in November last year, pressure on independent media and civil society increased in the country. In particular, arrests of journalists and activists followed.

"The latest repressions are taking place against the background of the already existing 235 political prisoners in Azerbaijan. One of these political prisoners, scientist and politician Gubad Ibadoglu, is being denied vital medical care, and his health continues to deteriorate seriously," the statement of the Foundation  reads.  All this happened on the eve of the presidential elections on February 7, while Azerbaijan is preparing to host the UN Climate Change Conference in November 2024.

All this raises serious questions about the situation of human rights and freedom of opinion in Azerbaijan, the House of Human Rights Foundation notes.