Human rights activist Rufat Safarov highly appreciated US State Department's Human Rights Award for his contribution to human rights protection.
Human rights activist Rufat Safarov highly appreciated US State Department's Human Rights Award for his contribution to human rights protection.
Human rights activist Rufat Safarov highly appreciated being honoured by the US State Department with an award for his contribution to the human rights protection.
‘I highly appreciate the award given to me and express my gratitude to the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Mr Libby, who nominated me for the award, and to the head of the US State Department, Mr Blinken, who supported its award. Unfortunately, official Baku arrested me to prevent me from personally receiving the award and to punish me for protecting human rights,’ Safarov said in a statement from the human rights defender's relatives.
He pointed out that he was proud to have embarked on the path of human rights activity, protecting universal human values and not deviating from this line ‘despite all the slander and pressure’ to which he is subjected by the authorities.
‘In fact, I take my arrest as the government's recognition of my human rights work. Human rights are not an internal affair of any country and are a universal definition. Without human rights, neither the state nor society can exist. I call on everyone to unite in defence of human rights,’ Safarov emphasized.
Politics
-
On February 12, the Baku Appeals Court rejected the appeal to transfer journalist Ramin Djebrailzade (Deko) to house arrest, according to his lawyer Nemat Kerimli. The defense considers this decision unjustified, as no investigative actions have been conducted regarding Deko, who was arrested in connection with the Meydan TV case. The journalist denies the charge of currency smuggling. Representatives of the investigating authorities were unavailable for comment.
-
The "Union for the Freedom of Political Prisoners of Azerbaijan" has published an updated list of political prisoners, which includes 357 names. Compared to the previous list from December 12 last year, the number of political prisoners has increased by 26 individuals. Among them are journalists Farid Ismayilov, Shamshad Agha, Shahnaz Beylergizi, and 13 arrested during the unrest in Imishli, among others.
-
On February 12, the National Assembly of Armenia approved in the first reading the bill "On the Initiation of the Republic of Armenia's Accession to the European Union." According to Armenian media reports, 63 deputies voted in favor, and 7 voted against. The bill was presented by the civil initiative Evrovote, which collected 60,000 signatures from citizens. On January 9, the bill was approved by the government and sent to the parliament.
-
On February 11, the third round of political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates took place in Abu Dhabi. The Azerbaijani side was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev, while the Arab side was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Ms. Lana Zaki Nusseibeh.
Leave a review