At the OSCE session on the human dimension, Azerbaijan was sharply criticized

Warsaw / 18.09.18 / Turan: Last week an OSCE meeting on measures of the human dimension was held in Warsaw. Speaking at the meeting, the head of the US delegation Michael Kozak said that the US is concerned about the facts of the transformation of laws used by the authorities to punish individuals who seek to realize their fundamental freedoms: will, peaceful assembly and demonstrations, as well as religion. Freedom of the judiciary is an essential attribute of democratic governance. Among the countries where these freedoms are seriously violated, he called Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

"Politically motivated persecution continues to raise doubts about the independence of the justice system of Azerbaijan. After the well-known opposition leader Ilgar Mammadov served five and a half years out of seven, the Court of Appeals released him in August with two years of administrative supervision.

We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to release those who are imprisoned for the implementation of fundamental freedoms and to lift the ban for traveling abroad on Mammadov and other opposition figures, in particular Ali Kerimli, attorney Intigam Aliyev, activist Anar Mammadli, and journalist Khadija Ismailova.

We also call for a thorough investigation of reports of harassment in places of detention, including torture. For example, no investigation was carried out after the well-known blogger Mehman Huseynov announced the police abuse of him in the place of detention. Instead, he was accused of criminal defamation and sentenced to two years in prison. Also, no one has been held responsible for the torture that the activists of the Movement of Muslim Unity, Abbas Huseynov and Jabbar Jabbarov, were subjected to in prison," Kozak said.

https://osce.usmission.gov/hdim-working-session-iv-rule-of-law-i/

At another meeting of the same event, dedicated to the freedom of the media, Kozak said that freedom of the media is also limited in Azerbaijan. The authorities continue to block the websites of independent media under various legal pretexts when it comes to publishing articles criticizing the government or unflattering about it. According to human rights activists, nine journalists and bloggers are imprisoned for their activities. After kidnapping in Georgia in 2017 and subsequent arrest in Azerbaijan, journalist Afgan Mukhtarly was sentenced in January to six years in prison on charges that many consider politically motivated.

"We insistently urge the Azerbaijani authorities to cooperate with the Georgian government in the investigation of the disappearance of Mukhtarly from Tbilisi, and we again reiterate our call to Georgian officials to complete the investigation of this abduction," he said. -02D-