Lady Gaga is urged to give her fee to families of political prisoners in Azerbaijan

An international coalition of human rights organizations, "Sport for Rights" ,sent a message to the well-known pop singer Lady  Gaga, which a week ago performed in Baku at the opening ceremony of the European Games.  The Coalition expresses great regret that the singer has agreed to perform in a country where  human rights are seriously  violated.

"Dear Lady Gaga,

We are writing to you as members of the Sport for Rights campaign, which has been working to raise human rights violations in Azerbaijan in the context of the European Games. We are deeply disappointed by your decision to perform at the opening ceremony of the games amidst the worst human rights crackdown to date in Azerbaijan, and ask you to consider our appeal to help right this very public wrong.

Given your history of speaking out strongly for human rights and equality, we can only assume that you are not aware of the real situation in Azerbaijan. In the run-up to the games, the Azerbaijani authorities worked aggressively to silence all forms of criticism and dissent, resulting in the arrests of dozens of political prisoners. As written by jailed Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova in a letter smuggled out of prison just last week, “Azerbaijan is in the midst of a human rights crisis. Things have never been worse”.

The Azerbaijani regime has been using the European Games in an attempt to whitewash its image, to distract international attention from the human rights abuses taking place in the country. Sadly, your performance has become part of that cover-up, a spectacular piece of propaganda for an authoritarian regime that is increasingly hostile towards its own people.

But we believe that you still have the chance to make this right. We urge you to follow the lead of U2 frontmanBono, who made an impassioned appeal on behalf of our jailed Azerbaijani colleagues on 12 and 13 June on stage during his concerts in Montreal. We ask you to speak out publicly, condemning the human rights crackdown in Azerbaijan, and calling for the release of the country’s jailed journalists and human rights defenders. We have provided a list in the appendix.

You could go even further in demonstrating that you are serious about the rights you so often promote by donating the money you have earned for your Baku performance to the families of Azerbaijan’s political prisoners. They are seriously struggling, having lost not only the freedom of their loved ones to a cruel political game, but having also lost vital income in a country still rife with poverty, despite the authorities’ attempts to cover it up. We believe it is wrong that you have profited while it is our jailed friends and colleagues who are paying the true price of the European Games.

Please, have some compassion for our colleagues, imprisoned for doing nothing more than speaking the truth and trying to change the situation in Azerbaijan for the better. Show the world that you do care, and that your silence cannot be bought", - reads the letter. -02D-