Committee to Protect H. Mammadov calls on the authorities to stop the repression

Committee to Protect the rights of Hilal Mammadov the editor of "Tolyshi Sado" newspaper, condemns the repression by the government  against youth activists and representatives of civil society.

The statement adopted today by the Committee said that the arrests of members of  NIDA  youth Movement, of Ilgar Mammadov, the leader of the Movement REAL,  and the journalist Tofig Yagublu  are  repression against opponents of the authorities.

Another link in the chain of repression is the physical and moral pressure on the functionaries of the Popular Front and the "Musavat"  party during their trip to the regions of the country.

All of these actions by the authorities are  aimed at preventing people's activity in the pre-election period. The statement authors demand the immediate release of all  arrested political prisoners arrested, including Hilal Mammadov, and creation of  equal conditions for the participation of all forces in the elections.

The  committee was created after the arrest of Hilal Mammadov in June 2012. Since then, a group of public figures regularly carries out actions and events in support of the arrested journalist and human rights in order to draw international attention to the sad state of freedoms in  Azerbaijan. -05D04-