Azeri activist visited Washington to drum up support

Hoping for an international support in a more agile and participative manner, Azeri civil society representatives urge the US government and human rights watchdogs "not to abandon them," at the time when Baku leans on foreign-funded NGOs.

RasulJafarov, Baku-based Human Rights Club, visited Washington DC last week, to discuss possible cooperation and the ongoing crackdown against civil society members in Azerbaijan.

"We brought up various offers during our dialogs and some of them need to be discussed. For example, working with the residents of Azerbaijan's regions, preventing the government's access to foreign donors, as well as helping civil society to create their private offices for launching the events," he said in an interview with TURAN's Washington correspondent.

The civil society in Azerbaijan is "under attack particularly because they speak out on the topics that the government wants to be forgotten," Jafarov emphasized.

In Washington, he said, there is a "huge interest" towards Azerbaijan "in all spheres, from arrests of human rights activists to media and political atmosphere".

He was able to discuss these topics with Washington-based rights groups and government bodies, such as the State Department, Congress Committees, Senate Foreign Relations office as well as several NGOs and possible donors.