"Azerbaijan is completing the worst year in terms of human rights, engaging in the New Year with dozens of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience," said a statement of the Institute of Reporters Freedom and Safety.
In addition, in the past year, the law was introduced a series of restrictive changes, was made illegal interference in the activities of NGOs and were harassed journalists and activists.
Nine journalists, two bloggers and three human rights defenders marked the New Year behind the bars.
They were arrested for political reasons during the implementation of their right to freedom of expression and assembly.
The head of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Training Center (EMDTC) Anar Mammadli will not be able to celebrate the New Year at large either. He was arrested for the fact that, being in the monitoring of the presidential election on October 9, he denounced violations of the law. Three counts charged in the aggregate Mammadli to face imprisonment up to 16 years.
The statement contains the names of 25 opposition activists, journalists and bloggers contained in prison for political reasons. Among them are the head of the movement REAL Ilgar Mamedov, the deputy chairman of the party Musavat Tofig Yagublu, the chief editor of Tolyshi Sado Hilal Mamedov, seven young activists of NIDA, a member of the organization Free Youth Ilkin Rustamzade, etc.
In conclusion, the statement calls on the authorities to respect their international obligations in the field of fundamental freedoms, release all political prisoners, stop putting pressure on journalists and civil society activists. -1606D –
Politics
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On 23 November at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, eco-activists from different countries held a protest action against the failure of countries to agree on climate finance.
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On the eve of the closing of the COP29 climate conference in Baku, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has drawn attention to the criminal cases of journalists detained in Azerbaijan.
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Negotiations at the 29th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku have been extended until November 24, a source in the UNFCCC Secretariat told the Turan news agency. According to the source, participants aim to finalize and sign the concluding documents by that date.
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According to the Turkish newspaper Sabah, officials from the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office's Anti-Smuggling Unit have detained an Azerbaijani citizen with a large shipment of gold. The detention took place near the Vadi İstanbul shopping center in the Sarıyer district, where a taxi was stopped. During the search, 70 kg of gold was found. The Azerbaijani citizen in the vehicle claimed ownership of the cargo and also stated that he was a diplomat. The investigation by the prosecutor's office is ongoing, reports Sabah newspaper. The media outlet does not disclose the name of the "diplomat," only his initials – M.G.Ş. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declined to comment on the situation.
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