PACE rapporteurs dismayed by the arrest of Azerbaijani human rights defender Rufat Safarov

The PACE General Rapporteur for political prisoners, Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC), and General Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and whistleblowers, Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD), have reacted to the arrest of Rufat Safarov by the Azerbaijani authorities:

“Yesterday’s arrest of Rufat Safarov on suspicion of ‘fraud’ and ‘hooliganism’ is yet another example of the growing crackdown on human rights defenders and activists in that country. This alarming development is part of an ongoing pattern of repressing critical voices and targeting those speaking up to defend fundamental freedoms and democratic values. Mr Safarov, a former investigator, is a renowned human rights defender who has already faced repression for criticising the government.

Only last week, the Parliamentary Assembly – meeting as the Standing Committee – held a current affairs debate on ‘The intensification of repression in Azerbaijan: the situation of political prisoners, threats to democratic freedoms and parliamentary rights’. We are dismayed by the fact that Mr Safarov’s name adds to the already long list of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.

We call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release Mr Safarov and reiterate the recent call by the co-rapporteur of the PACE Monitoring Committee for Azerbaijan, Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC), to drop all trumped-up charges against other political prisoners. We urge the international community to join these efforts and apply diplomatic pressure to ensure the release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan.”