International Community Condemns Arrests of Activists in Azerbaijan

The International Network of Human Rights Houses, headquartered in Oslo, expressed concern about the arrests of activists in Azerbaijan on the eve of the referendum on constitutional amendments.

In a statement, the organization notes that several activists have been detained in recent days: Natig Jafarli, Togrul Ismayilov, Bakhtiyar Hajiyev and Elgiz Gahramanli.

The Network of Human Rights Houses calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to put an end to intimidation of the opposition and the opponents of the referendum.

The organization also calls on the Council of Europe to demand Azerbaijan's compliance with its own obligations in the field of democracy and human rights and to ensure the participation of citizens in public life, freedom of expression and assembly during the referendum.

The Network of Human Rights Houses also recalls that the referendum will vote amendments to the Constitution, providing for the extension of the presidential term from 5 to 7 years and the institution of Vice President. In addition, the amendments provide for the limitation of freedom of assembly, and property rights, as well as create opportunities for deprivation of Azerbaijani citizenship.

"During the referendum, everyone must be able to exercise the freedom of expression safely. The right to participate in public life also implies possible disagreement with the government’s proposals.

The people should be given opportunities for genuine public debate.

But, on the contrary, we see the beginning of a new wave of pressure on civil society and the opposition, which is directly connected with the referendum," said the organization’s manager for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Ann Bond Tusvig.

It is highlighted that the persecution of activists follows the recent visit of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Arrests to Azerbaijan. The mission that took place in May stated the persecution of human rights defenders, journalists, political and religious leaders on criminal and administrative charges is aimed to narrow the implementation of human rights and freedoms, and suppress the voices of activists.

In turn, the US Helsinki Commission also expressed concern over the recent arrests in Azerbaijan on its Twitter account.

The Helsinki Commission Chairman Chris Smith is the author of the Act for Democracy in Azerbaijan, designed to draw attention to harassment of the opposition and civil society activists in Azerbaijan. -06D--