Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Civil Society Intensifies, Human Rights Group Warns

The Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) on Monday condemned the escalating suppression of civil society in Azerbaijan during its statement at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, citing the arrest of prominent activist Anar Mammadli as a stark example of the ongoing repression.

Speaking at the Democratic Institutions panel, Dave Elseroad, representative of HRHF, highlighted the deteriorating situation for independent voices in the country. "Azerbaijan has a longstanding and well-documented record of repressing critical voices," Elseroad stated. He emphasized that over the past year, authorities have intensified their crackdown, targeting remaining independent civil society organizations and media outlets with unfounded but severe criminal charges.

Elseroad singled out the case of Anar Mammadli, head of the Election Monitoring & Democracy Studies Center and member of Human Rights House Azerbaijan. Mammadli was arrested on April 29 on fabricated charges shortly after his organization published a critical analysis of the February presidential election and announced a new coalition on climate justice ahead of COP29. Elseroad noted that Mammadli's detention followed his participation in a Human Dimension Meeting in Vienna, where he publicly denounced Azerbaijan’s fraudulent elections and human rights abuses.

"The arrest and ongoing detention of Anar does not take place in isolation," Elseroad added. He outlined that since 2023, Azerbaijani authorities have intensified their crackdown on human rights defenders, lawyers, independent journalists, opposition politicians, civil society activists, and academics. This widespread repression, Elseroad warned, threatens to eliminate all forms of dissent and legitimate human rights work, particularly in the lead-up to COP29 and the upcoming snap presidential and parliamentary elections, which have been criticized by the ODIHR election observation mission for lacking competitiveness and democratic standards.

The HRHF representative also acknowledged statements from European Union and United States officials earlier in the day, commending their attention to Azerbaijan’s human rights situation. He called on participating states to consider the value of Azerbaijan’s participation in the Human Dimension Conference and urged them to take steps ahead of COP29 to pressure Azerbaijani authorities to reverse their repressive measures.

The Warsaw conference, focusing on democratic institutions, has seen increased participation from government-aligned civil society organizations, a development HRHF attributes to the ongoing crackdown in Azerbaijan. The foundation's statement underscores growing international concern over Azerbaijan's human rights record and the shrinking space for civil society within the country.