Blinken Urges Azerbaijan To Release Those Unjustly Detained, Cease Crackdown, Fulfill Its Commitments

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday issued a statement on escalating crackdown on Azerbaijani civil society and media, urging authorities in Baku to release all those unjustly detained, cease its crackdown, and fulfill the commitments, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"The United States calls on the Government of Azerbaijan to free immediately Rufat Safarov, Sevinj Vagifgizi, Azer Gasimli, Farid Mehralizada, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, Gubad Ibadoghlu, recently detained associates of independent outlet Meydan TV, and many others arrested for their work on human rights," Blinken noted.

"The United States is deeply concerned not only by these detentions, but by the increasing crackdown on civil society and media in Azerbaijan," he added.

Two of these individuals were to be celebrated in Washington this week for their human rights advocacy: Rufat Safarov is the co-founder of Defense Line, a civil society organization that documents and reports on politically motivated arrests and prosecutions, government corruption, and allegations of torture.

"He is one of the few full-time human rights defenders remaining in Azerbaijan and has been targeted for his work.  Azerbaijani authorities detained Mr. Safarov on December 3, only days before he was to travel to the United States to receive the Secretary of State’s Human Rights Defender Award," Blinken went on to add.

He also noted that as Editor-in-Chief of Abzas Media, Sevinj Vagifgizi and her team reported on illegal tenders to companies controlled by government officials and investigated allegations of large-scale embezzlement of public funds.  "Her work has drawn the ire of authorities, and she has been held in pre-trial detention since November 2023.  On December 9, Ms. Vagifgizi received the Secretary of State’s 2024 Anti-Corruption Champions award in absentia."

Blinken concluded:  "We urge the Government of Azerbaijan to release those unjustly detained for their advocacy on behalf of human rights, cease its crackdown on civil society, respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all, and fulfill the commitments it made when it joined the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe."