Baku/25.09.18/Turan: The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with the organizations International Media Support, IFEX, and the International Senior Lawyers Project submitted an amicus curiaebrief to the European Court of Human Rights in support of a legal complaint by Azerbaijani journalist and human rights advocate Emin Huseynov.
Huseynov, the director and co-founder of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety who is living in exile in Switzerland, lodged a complaint to the European Court in 2015 that argues that the Azerbaijani government illegally stripped him of citizenship in retaliation for his critical views.
The third-party intervention highlights how denationalization is used as a tool of political persecution and how deprivation of citizenship contributes to silencing dissenting voices in Azerbaijan, which is one of the worst jailers of journalists among the Court's members.
"Azerbaijan is one of the worst jailers of journalists in the world. The repressive techniques that authorities there use against reporters and media activists, including Emin Huseynov and his brother, Mehman, currently jailed for his journalism in Azerbaijan, deserve international condemnation. We urge the Court to rule in favor of Emin Huseynov and send a strong signal that it will not tolerate abusive behaviors by member nations seeking to silence critical voices through means such as denationalization," said Gulnoza Said, CPJ's Europe and Central Asia research associate, in the brief.
Read the full brief and press release here. -0-
Politics
-
On November 26, the Baku Court of Appeals reviewed the appeal of human rights defender Anar Mammadli, who contested the extension of his detention. Mammadli's lawyer, Javad Javadov, stated that Mammadli argued the extension of his pre-trial detention was unfounded and linked the criminal prosecution to his human rights activities, Turan reported.
-
On November 26, a group of reserve officers from the Nakhchivan special forces held a protest near the Azerbaijani presidential administration. The protesters participated in the 44-day war and were discharged after sustaining injuries. They claim that the payments they are entitled to have not been provided.
-
On November 26, the Baku Court of Appeals heard a complaint regarding the extension of the detention of former diplomat Emin Ibrahimov. During the hearing, the investigator requested that the complaint be rejected, while Ibrahimov's lawyer, Aghil Laidj, pointed out the lack of grounds for keeping Ibrahimov in custody.
-
Arrested economist Fazil Gasimov has reportedly faced pressure after protesting the interruption of a phone call with his family on November 16. "The phone call was cut off, and Fazil demanded that the connection be restored. Then, Jalal Alizadeh, a detention center officer, along with his colleagues, forcibly removed Fazil from the phone room in the medical unit of the facility, tearing his jacket and dragging him across the floor before throwing him into a cell.
Leave a review