Nils Muznieks: Intimidation of Leyla Yunus is repression against critical voices
I am dismayed at the news that human rights defender Leyla Yunus and her husband have been detained and searched for hours at Baku airport, with difficulties to meet their lawyer, and at the subsequent questioning of Leyla Yunus by the Prosecutor’s office.
Unfortunately, this is an additional example showing the extent of intimidation and repression of critical voices in Azerbaijan, a problem which I have repeatedly highlighted – most recently, through observations published last week -- and asked the Azerbaijani authorities to address.
The authorities must immediately halt such practice and take urgent measures to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly are respected. As a member of the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan has the duty to comply with its human rights obligations and commitments.-16-
Politics
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Azerbaijan called on Armenia to abandon provocative actions and choose between completing the normalization process or continuing a path of confrontation, after a diplomatic clash at the Francophonie Summit in France earlier this week.
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A group of MPs have appealed to Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to reconsider relations with the US and denounce defence cooperation agreements.
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President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order on awarding Presidential scholarships to students admitted to higher educational institutions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2024-2025 academic year.
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New Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Russia Rahman Mustafayev was received by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 4 October.
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